Chemical Equilibrium
by Xx Meisha xX
Summary: The science fair is just around the corner. Determined to get a good grade, Cagalli and Lacus struggle to overcome some of the oddest obstacles. Can Cagalli find equilibrium within all the chaos?
1. Detour

**Archerygurl:**

Hey there! Here's my first, published fanfic. I hope you like reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
Please be sure to leave me comments throughout the story so that I have an idea of what you guys think.

Enjoy =)

**.:*:.** Disclaimer- Yes, it's hard to believe, but I don't own Gundam Seed. The story's plot is mine though!** .:*:.  
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.::. Chemical Equilibrium .::.  
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**Chapter 1: Detour**

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The chemistry project.

Yeah, that had been the original plan, but it was far from accomplished.

Just that morning, Cagalli had told Kira that she was going to Lacus' house to work on the project and Kira hadn't objected. When it came to anything with Lacus, Kira was all for it. Cagalli couldn't help but take advantage of that. Her intentions were good, after all. She planned to study _part_ of time, but that was to be expected, right?

Wrong.

As soon as Cagalli had walked into Lacus' house, any thoughts of the project had flown out the window.

"I brought our notes from class. We decided last time that we would focus our project on the acidity of various food items and see which were good pH indicators," Cagalli summarized while skimming through her notebook. "I went ahead and looked up what fruits would act as good pH indicators. We already tried cabbage juice, but apparently blueberries and red apple skins will work too," she added before closing her book.

"We should test those, then. But I'm afraid I don't have blueberries or red apple skins," Lacus replied after a moment of thought.

"Really? I can understand blueberries because those are pretty gross. But I thought everyone had apples…" Cagalli said, slightly surprised.

"Yes, usually we have all types of fruit, but I believe my father took them to work," the young girl replied, resting her chin on her hand.

"All of them?" The seriousness mixed with confusion in Cagalli's voice caused Lacus to giggle.

"My family's company is to be holding a meeting with guests from several countries. However, my father hadn't realized that a majority of the guests happen to be vegetarian and, unfortunately, catered mostly meat dishes. He was rather desperate and had our wide selection of fruits and vegetables shipped to the office earlier this morning," Lacus said nodding as though it made complete sense.

Cagalli just stared at the girl in front of her.

"I suppose we should go and buy the necessary items," Lacus said as she stood up and reached for her purse, which was placed on the table. "Shall I ask Vonswa to take us or would you like to take your car?" she asked looking over at her friend.

"Ah, I don't mind driving," Cagalli said. Although she knew Vonswa, the Clyne butler, was a nice guy, she felt more comfortable taking her own car. She just felt awkward with someone unfamiliar in the car.

While on the road, Lacus was suddenly hit with an idea.

"Cagalli!" she exclaimed, a little louder than necessary. The said girl swerved momentarily before directing her attention to Lacus.

"Whaat!"

"Ah, sorry. It's just that, the grocery store is close to the mall, isn't it?" Lacus said. Cagalli could see her eyes light up.

"Um… yes," she answered. She didn't like where this conversation was going.

It registered as: Lacus + shopping = spending lots of time and money

"I've never had a chance to go to the mall! I'm always escorted by someone in the house to a mall much farther away. Do you think we could just stop by there before picking up the fruits? Just for a little while!" Lacus pleaded with big puppy dog eyes.

Cagalli hated those eyes. They _always_ worked on her. She cursed Kira, who must have been the one to tell Lacus of her weakness.

_Just don't look at her. We have to get this project done. But be nice, maybe 'How about another time?' or 'I'm not really in the mood'_

"Sure," Cagalli said as she pulled into the parking lot. She then bit her lower lip. _Great._

Lacus beamed with joy. "Thank you!" she exclaimed.

As much of a distraction as the mall would be, Cagalli was glad she had brought her friend. It was true that Lacus rarely had a chance to go out. Her parents were rather overprotective. She remembered what happened when Kira first met them. Lacus and Kira weren't even a couple, but they wanted to interrogate him none the less. It had been at the previous year's science fair, when Lacus walked over to say 'hi' and congratulate Kira and Athrun for winning first prize. Athrun was spared as his parents were good friends of the Clyne's. Cagalli smiled at the memory.

"Cagalli, Cagalli," Lacus said tapping the blonde on the shoulder.

"Ah, sorry, what was that?" Cagalli said slightly embarrassed that she had completely zoned out.

"There's a girl waving at you," Lacus said pointing over to a girl with brown hair.

"Oh?" Cagalli said as she followed Lacus's finger. "Ah, Miriallia! Let's go meet up with her. I'll introduce you," Cagalli said as Lacus nodded and followed.

"Cagalli at the mall… didn't think I'd see that. Please tell me you're dress shopping and my day will be made," Miriallia teased.

"Be quiet," Cagalli said scowling. "Oh, this is my friend, Lacus," Cagalli said introducing the girl next to her.

"_The_ Lacus!" Miriallia exclaimed.

Lacus and Cagalli blinked.

"Um, I guess?" Cagalli said as she looked over to Lacus who was just as confused.

"She really does look like a princess," Miriallia said looking at Lacus. "Guess that's to be expected of Kira, though. He's done well." She said nodding.

"Miri!" Cagalli yelled. Lacus simply blushed.

"What? Anyway, what are you guys doing here?" Miriallia asked completely missing the effect of her words on the now flustered girl.

"Just window shopping, really," Cagalli answered.

"Oh! I have the perfect store! Come on!" Miriallia exclaimed as she grabbed Cagalli and Lacus' hands and pulled them over to an overly decorated entranceway.

.:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:.

"_Dreaming Star_" Cagalli said in disbelief. "Since when is that a store?"

"Don't question it. Let's just go in!" Miri snapped, as she walked in.

"I like this store," Lacus said as she admired the dresses hanging on the wall.

"I'm so glad one of you has good taste!" Miri said sticking her tongue out at Cagalli.

"This stuff is so girly!" Cagalli complained. "You know I don't dress like this," she said as she picked something up from the rack. "Is this a shirt or a dress?"

"Do people really wear dresses that small?" Lacus asked as her eyes widened.

Miri couldn't help but laugh at the reactions of the two girls.

"Oh, Lacus! Look at this skirt. It's so you!" Miri exclaimed as she picked out a cute frilly white skirt.

"So me?" Lacus echoed.

"Yes! Try it on," Miri said as she dragged Lacus over to the dressing room.

Cagalli followed, curious as to how the girl would look in the skirt. Pretty, of course.

"And you," Miri said, pointing an accusing finger at Cagalli.

"What?"

"Try this on!" Miri said, tossing something over to Cagalli.

"No thanks," Cagalli calmly replied as she was about to hang it back on the rack.

"Cagalli Yula Athha, you better try that on!"

"Or what?" Cagalli asked looking back at her friend and raising an eyebrow.

"Or… I tell Lacus about your sweetheart," Miri said smirking.

After she saw Cagalli's eyes widen, she handed her the outfit again. "This one's open," she casually mentioned, as though nothing had happened.

When Lacus walked out of the stand, Miri whistled causing the girl's cheeks to tint a light shade of pink.  
"It looks really good on you! Especially with that shirt you picked out," Miri said nodding.

"Thank you. Where is Cagalli?" Lacus asked.

Cagalli was cursing under her breath.

"Come on out," Miri said rolling her eyes.

Cagalli hesitantly stepped out of the fitting room. Lacus was absolutely shocked to see what Cagalli was wearing. A light blue sun dress with flowers imprinted on it.

Before Miriallia could say anything, Lacus cut her off.

"Cagalli! You look absolutely adorable," she exclaimed.

Cagalli scoffed. 'Adorable' was not something she liked being called.

"Thanks…" she managed to say as she walked back to the fitting room to get back into her regular jeans and t-shirt.

"You're going to buy it, right?" Miri asked.

"No."

"Then, I'm going to buy it for you!" Lacus exclaimed, obviously excited.

"No!" Cagalli yelled.

"Why not?" Lacus asked tilting her head.

"Um… I'll just buy it myself," Cagalli said.

Miriallia knew exactly what was going on. Cagalli would buy the dress to keep Lacus from buying it and would then come back later and return it.

"Hey Lacus, you know Cagalli's birthday is coming up?" Miri said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Cagalli asked, irritated.

"Ah! Then I have to buy you this dress! It will be a birthday present from me! How could I forget, your birthday was coming up. It's the same day as Kira's," Lacus scolded herself.

"Ah, no, you don't have to…" Cagalli tried to come up with another excuse, but was stuck. She just glared at Miriallia who smiled back.

After they—well Lacus—had finished paying they headed out of the store. Cagalli checked her cell phone and was shocked to see what time it was.

"Eight?" She cried as both girls turned to look at her.

"Oh yeah, I'm hungry!" Miri complained.

"Forget you, we have a project to work on!" Cagalli exclaimed looking at Lacus.

"I'm a bit hungry as well," Lacus admitted.

"No! We have to go—" but before Cagalli could finish her stomach growled, rather loud.

Everyone stared at Cagalli's stomach, including herself.

"Okay…" Miriallia smiled. "So, where are we eating?"

"It says the food court is around the corner," Lacus said pointing at the sign hanging on the ceiling.

"Food court it is!" Miriallia exclaimed as she led the way with Lacus and Cagalli, who was hiding her face, close behind.

When the girls had arrived at the food court Lacus stood in awe.

"There are so many choices," Lacus said as she looked from one store to another.

"Yeah, it's because people are so indecisive," Cagalli said with both sarcasm and seriousness.

"But it's wonderful! I wish I had the opportunity to come here more often," Lacus said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Cagalli looked over to her usually cheery friend.

"This isn't the last time you're going to be here though!" Miri said trying to cheer the girl up. Cagalli nodded in agreement.

"You'll really bring me here again?" Lacus asked as her eyes lit up again.

"Of course," Cagalli replied. "Okay, I'm getting a turkey sandwich. What about you guys?"

"Pizza!" Miriallia said. "What about you, Lacus?"

"Um, I'm not sure. What do you suggest?" She asked still looking at the many menus.

"Hmm, I think you should try their Chinese food. The lo-mien is to die for!" Miriallia said pointing to a little boy who was carrying a plate.

The little boy looked at Miriallia for a second and then ran off to his mom.

"Way to scare the kid," Cagalli teased. "Anyway, I think their fried rice is better."

"Psh, their fried rice doesn't even compare," Miriallia said waving her hand around.

"What are you talking about? Their lo-mien is way too salty," Cagalli criticized.

"And their fried rice has eggs in it," Miriallia argued.

"If she doesn't like eggs she can just ask for it without them," Cagalli countered.

"Girls?" Lacus tried to interrupt.

"Why would they put eggs in it to begin with? That's just weird. I mean, have you ever heard of anyone asking if your grilled cheese needed lettuce?" Miriallia said rolling her eyes.

"That's completely different! Eggs actually make sense," Cagalli said unsure of why anyone would want lettuce with their grilled cheese. "You make the weirdest arguments, you know that?"

"Hmph, whatever. So, what are you going to get, Lacus?" Miriallia said turning to face the girl. But she was no longer standing there.

"Girls, I ended up getting a burrito. I've never actually eaten one, so I thought it would be fun. I didn't want to interrupt your conversation, so I just went ahead and bought it. I'm sure both the lo-mien and fried rice are delicious, though. Shall we find a place to sit?" Lacus said smiling.

Cagalli and Miriallia felt silly. They had been putting on quite a show for other people sitting and eating at the food court. The little boy with the plate of lo-mien tugged at his mother's skirt and pointed at Miriallia saying she was the one who tried to steal his food.

"Um, yeah sure. I'll just get my food and join you," Cagalli said as she went off to order her sandwich.  
"Same here," Miriallia said as she went off in the opposite direction.

Lacus just smiled. She had no idea that she would have so much fun at the mall. Sure it wasn't as big as the one she usually went too, but she was having a much better time here. It must have been the company she was with.

She was thankful for having such great friends.

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**Archerygurl:**

And there you have it.  
Chapter 1 complete.

More characters are on the way!

_.:*:. Updated 8/2010 .:*:._


	2. An Unpleasant Encounter

**Archerygurl:**

Thank you for the reviews. It really means a lot!

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**.::. Chemical Equilibrium .::.**

**Chapter 2: An Unpleasant Encounter**

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Eating didn't take long at all. They basically devoured their food.

"Miriallia, you look like a vacuum," Cagalli commented.

This made Lacus giggle and Miriallia turn red.

"Well excuse me! I haven't eaten since noon," Miriallia defended.

"Excuses, excuses," Cagalli muttered.

"Since noon?" Lacus asked worriedly. "Why haven't you eaten anything in between?"

"Probably too busy shopping," Cagalli said as she took the final bite of her sandwich. "Isn't that right?"

"No, well, yes. But they had some amazing sales that I just couldn't pass up. And if I hadn't gone when I had I'm sure everything good would have been taken!" Miriallia defended.

"Really? You don't have many bags," Lacus said taking note that Miriallia was only carrying a purse.

"Oh, well I was with someone before I met you guys," Miriallia said.

"Someone? Who?" Cagalli asked, suddenly interested.

"A friend…"

"Which friend?"

"From a school."

"Well that narrows it down to about five hundred," Cagalli said sarcastically.

Miriallia glared at the blonde.

"Ok, our year?"

"Yes."

"Brown hair?"  
"No."

"Blonde hair?"

"Yes."

"Boy?"  
"What is this, twenty questions?" Miriallia asked frustrated.

"Hey, I thought it was fun," Cagalli said putting her hands up in mock surrender. "Anyhow, where's Dearka now?"

"Well he was tired of carrying my bags and said his feet hurt. The second I said he could leave he ran off with my bags saying he'd drop them off at my place later. Sometimes he's such a—WAIT, how'd you know it was Dearka?" Miriallia screeched.

"Lucky guess," Cagalli said shrugging her shoulders.

"Liar!" Miriallia yelled.

Lacus was very much enjoying this conversation. Although she didn't know who this Dearka was, she thought he would be a very interesting character.

"Do you think I could meet him sometime?" Lacus asked the fuming girl.

"I'm not sure you really want to," Miriallia sighed.

"I can introduce you. He's on the basketball team with Kira so we can go together next time," Cagalli said.

"I'm sure there's someone _else_ you'd want to see at the game," Miriallia smirked.

"No…" Cagalli glared.

"Athrun?" Lacus piped in.

Cagalli stared at Lacus with her mouth open.

"How did—er, n-no," Cagalli failed to hide her surprise while fumbling over her words.

Lacus smiled and Miriallia couldn't contain her laughter.

"Anyway, we've been sitting here for way too long. We still need to finish our project, Lacus," Cagalli reminded.

"Yes, I suppose so," Lacus agreed. "What time is it?"

"Oh wow… It's already eleven," Miriallia said shocked.

"Eleven? I thought the mall closed at ten," Cagalli asked in disbelief.

"Apparently not," Miriallia mentioned casually.

"I had no idea it was this late already. I hope the grocery store is still open," Lacus said.

"Yeah," Cagalli agreed. "Well, we're going to get going then. See you later, Miri!" Cagalli said as she stood up.

"It was very nice meeting you," Lacus said smiling as she stood up as well.

"Yeah, same. I hope to see you around more. I'm planning on transferring to your high school actually, so I'm sure I will," Miriallia said.

"I look forward to it!" Lacus exclaimed.

It was so much darker when the girls exited the mall. Luckily there were some lights, but not many. As the two girls walked to Cagalli's car they heard someone whistle. Confused, Lacus looked around and then to Cagalli.

"Just keep walking," Cagalli said pulling Lacus's arm.

"Where are you going, honey? The night is still young. Why not hang out with us for a while?" called a male voice from across the parking lot.

The girls kept walking.

"Look, Kaito, you scared them," laughed another.

"You think you're so smooth, Rio. Prove it," taunted Kaito.

"Gladly."

Before Cagalli could unlock the car door, she felt Lacus freeze. Cagalli turned around to see a horrified expression plastered on Lacus' face.

"No really, why in such a hurry?" asked the boy as he held on to Lacus' wrist.

"I- um, we have to work on a project," Lacus said without making eye contact.

"Maybe we can help you out," the boy said smirking.

"N-no thank you," she said trying to loosen his grip on her arm.

"Polite, are we? But I insist," he added pulling Lacus closer to him until she was forced to look at him. "My, what beautiful eyes. And your hair…" he added as he played with a strand of her hair.

"Back off!" Cagalli yelled as she approached the two.

"Jealous?" the boy said turning his attention to the blonde without releasing Lacus.

"As if. Now let go of her," Cagalli demanded.

"Don't worry, there's enough of me to go around," he added slyly.

Cagalli had enough. She was about to punch him in the jaw, but a hand held her back.

"Rio, you almost deserved that punch for trying to keep two beautiful girls to yourself," reprimanded the second boy.

"Yikes, that one is feisty. You can have her," Rio said looking back to Lacus.

"Yeah right. Let go," Cagalli said as she struggled to release her right arm.

"I don't think so, blondie," he laughed grabbing her other arm before she took a chance to hit him.

Cagalli wasn't about to give up. She continued to struggle until she was forcefully shoved into a car.

"Cagalli!" Lacus cried.

"Now you don't want that to happen to you, do you?" Rio asked. "If not, I suggest you don't act out of line."

"You… jerk," Cagalli said.

"Call me what you like," Kaito said with a smirk as he leaned in closer.

"Stop!" Lacus cried. She tried to break free of Rio's grasp, but it was to no avail. "Leave her alone!" she called. "Please, tell him to stop," she pleaded with Rio.

"Sorry, missy. Even if I wanted to, there's no way he'd listen. He's having too much fun," Rio said with a laugh. "Anyway, back to you and me. Since they've already called the parking lot, how about we head back to my car?" he added as she pulled Lacus towards their car.

"Damn it. Let me go!" Cagalli yelled as she tried to push Kaito off, but he was too strong.

"Come on, now. I'm not that repulsive," Kaito chuckled as his face was just hovering over Cagalli's.

"I suggest you get off if you don't want me to throw up on you," Cagalli warned.

He laughed again. "Make me," he added.

From the corner of her eye she could see the other guy dragging Lacus over to his car. She had to think of something fast. Nothing was coming to mind though.

_Why am I so useless? What about all those self defense classes I attended— , all for nothing! Kira…_

Tears began to form, but she refused to let herself cry. She closed her eyes hoping some miracle would happen. All she could do was pray. Somehow they'd get out of this situation.

Then, all of a sudden, she felt the grip on her arms loosen. She opened her eyes to see Kaito looking back at Lacus and Rio. She heard a thud.

What was going on?


	3. Apologies

**.::. Chemical Equilibrium .::.**

**Chapter 3: Apologies **

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Cagalli wasn't thinking straight. This was the perfect opportunity for her to escape Kaito's grasp, but instead she just peered over his shoulder. It was too dark, she couldn't make out what was going on.

_Lacus didn't just knock him out, did she?_

She shook her head. There was no way Lacus would knock anyone out. She wasn't even sure if the girl was capable of it.

"W-who are you?" Cagalli heard Lacus stutter.

There was someone else there? She felt Kaito completely release her and turn around.

"Hey, Rio. What's going on?" he called.

This was Cagalli's chance. She quickly dropped down and kicked Kaito behind the knee causing him to completely cave, almost falling on top of her. But she was quick to move to the side allowing him to hit the blacktop. She then quickly jumped to her feet and ran over to her friend.

"Lacus, are you all right?" Cagalli called as she caught up to the girl. As soon as she saw Lacus she noticed someone lying on the floor. Recognizing it as the other boy, a look of confusion appeared on her face. Before she could ask anything or Lacus could explain, Cagalli found herself pinned up against another car. Upon impact she closed her eyes, unaware of what was going on.

"What the-" Cagalli started before she was cut off.

"You're with them too?" demanded the male voice.

Cagalli opened her eyes to see she was staring into a pair of angry, blue eyes.

"No, Rey! Let go of her. She's my friend," Lacus said tugging on his arm.

"Ah? My apologies," he said releasing the blonde girl.

"Who do you think you are?" Kaito yelled as he approached the three, but stopped in his tracks when he saw his friend lying on the ground.

"It would be best if you and your friend left," Lacus suggested looking at the boy on the ground.

"Miss Lacus," Rey started.

"I'm sure they have already learned their lesson," Lacus said looking up at the boy.

"All right," he said as he turned his attention to Kaito. "Didn't you hear her? Get out of here before I change my mind."

"I'm not afraid of you," Kaito said glaring at Rey, but when Rey took a step forward Kaito backed away. "Whatever," he muttered as he went over to his friend and nudged him. Rio was brought back to consciousness, but very unaware of the present situation. "Come on, let's go," Kaito said helping Rio up. He helped Rio into the passenger seat and walked over to the driver's side. Before entering he looked over at the group of three and scowled before getting in and driving off.

After the lights of the car had disappeared Cagalli turned her attention back to Lacus and the blonde who had apparently saved her.

"Cagalli, this is Rey," Lacus introduced. "I guess you can consider him my body guard."

"Um, nice to meet you," Cagalli said not really sure how she was supposed to respond after what had just happened.

"I'm glad I was able to make it here on time. What were you thinking, Miss Lacus? It's quarter till," Rey scolded.

It was evident that he was beyond angry, but he didn't once raise his voice. Cagalli could see why he would be chosen as a body guard.

"Yes, I apologize. I hadn't kept track of the time and before I was aware, it was already this late," Lacus admitted quietly.

Cagalli felt bad. Today may have been the first time Lacus went out and had some real fun, but it was all ending in a disaster.

"It's not her fault. I was the one who brought her here," Cagalli said avoiding eye contact with Rey.

"Cagalli, I was the one who insisted that we come," Lacus argued.

"Regardless, you are both safe now," Rey said. "Your father has not yet returned, but he is sure to be upset when he learns of this."

"Oh, Rey! Please don't tell him," Lacus pleaded.

Rey sighed and turned to Cagalli.

"I hope you don't mind, but I will be taking Miss Lacus back home," he said.

"Of course not," Cagalli said shaking her head.

"Cagalli, would you like to be dropped off as well? We can pick up your car later," Lacus asked.

She was worried about leaving Cagalli alone, but she knew she wouldn't be allowed to return home with her friend. She was silently hoping Cagalli would accept the offer.

"No, it's all right. I'll be fine. Thanks, though," Cagalli assured. "But I had better be going. Kira's probably going to kill me," she joked, but deep down she was serious.

"All right," Lacus said forcing a smile. "How about we get together tomorrow and work on the project?"

"Sure thing," Cagalli said as she turned to walk towards her car.

"I look forward to it," Lacus said waving as Rey escorted her to the car.

As Cagalli approached her car she realized that they hadn't even gone to the grocery store.

_Stupid chemistry project... _she thought

During her drive back home Cagalli had a lot of time to think. How did Rey know where they were? When did he get there? No one even noticed him until he knocked that guy out. What was Kira going to say when he saw her come back so late? She knew he was definitely not asleep. How did Lacus know she liked Athrun? Wait, she didn't like Athrun. Why did Lacus _think_ Cagalli liked Athrun? What about Miriallia? Cagalli hoped she had gotten home all right. As she pulled into her drive way she decided it would be best to call Miriallia and check up on her. When she pulled out her cell phone she was surprised to see that it had been on 'silent' mode and was even more shocked to see that she had… **18 missed calls**?

"Oh man…" she said aloud, just imagining who had called her that many times.

Kira

Kira

Kira

Kira

Kira

Kira

Oh look, Miriallia

Kira

Kira

Kira

Athrun?

Kira

Kira

Kira

Kira

Kira

Kira

Kira

"I'm so in for it," she said aloud as she opened the door of her car. "How could I have forgotten to turn my phone back on? Maybe I'll just hold off on calling Miriallia back. Let's see if I can just survive tonight," she said to herself as she approached the front door. "Here goes," and with that she opened the door.

Just as she had expected all the lights were on. And lo and behold, there was Kira sitting on the couch in the family room, tapping his fingers on the arm of the couch. Had he even noticed her or was he too involved in his rage? Cagalli had no idea what she was supposed to do. Walk over to him and say "hey, how's it going!" or sneak up stairs without him noticing, or maybe make a run for her room and lock the door, or just go back outside and sit on the porch till morning? She weighed all the different possibilities, but before she had a chance to pick on Kira spoke up.

"You're late," he said coolly.

"Ah, y-yeah. Sorry about that. I hadn't realized it was that late," Cagalli said trying to sound as calm as possible.

"I called you… a couple of times," he added.

"A couple!" Cagalli realized her sudden outburst and shut her mouth completely with one hand and tried to think of something to say to cover it up. "Er- yeah, I was so stupid. I forgot to turn it back on full volume when we went to the mall," she added quickly.

"Mall? I thought you were supposed to be working on your chemistry project?" Kira said as he tilted his head towards his sister.

_Oh crap…_

"Ah, y-yeah. Well we were starting on it, but then we realized we didn't have all the items necessary so we had to pick some stuff up," It was easier for her to tell her brother the truth.

"And you had to go to the mall?" he asked.

"Y-yes," she lied.

"What's your project on?" Kira asked sensing his sister's uneasiness.

"Ok, well we actually had to go to the grocery store, but the mall was on the way so we decided to just stop over for a while to look at some stuff, but then we met Miriallia and she wanted to show us her favorite, really girly, by the way, store so we followed her and then we tried on a bunch of clothes, which I didn't like because they were so girly, but Lacus bought me this dress anyway saying it would be her birthday present for me so I couldn't reject it, and then by the time we were done it was already eight o'clock and we realized we were all hungry so we headed over to the food court and had dinner, but we got so caught up in talking that it was eleven when we check the clock. And then we came home," Cagalli took in a deep breath. She had no idea she could have summarized her entire day in one ridiculously long run on sentence.

Obviously Kira was surprised as well, as he just stared at his sister not sure of what to say.

"You bought a dress?" He said trying hard to hide his smile.

"Sh-shut up," Cagalli yelled.

Of all the things she said he just had to pick the part about the dress.

"Did you end up getting what you needed from the grocery store?" Kira asked suddenly aware of why he was talking to his sister again.

"N-no," she admitted.

"Why not?"

"Well, I'm sure it was closed by then," Cagalli said.

It was easy for her to say that as it wasn't a complete lie. The reason she came home was because she had thought it was closed, and there was no point in driving that extra mile or so. Also, the whole parking lot incident was fresh on her mind, though there was no way she was going to tell her brother about it.

"You look like you have something else to say," Kira said, oblivious to the fact that he was knew her exact thoughts. He could always tell what was going on in Cagalli's head if he looked at her eyes.

"Nah," Cagalli said, aware and irritated that he could read her like an open book.

"Well, it's late. So I'm going to bed. Don't be late like this again… It really had me worried," Kira admitted as he stood up.

Cagalli felt terrible. She knew her brother was being fussy and annoying because he loved her. Although they were officially still living with their parents, it seemed they were never home. There was always some 'business trip' their mom and dad had to attend. They were gone for weeks at a time usually. As a result, the two siblings looked out for each other, which meant Kira usually took on the role of the big brother.

"I'm sorry," Cagalli said quietly.

"It's fine," Kira said as he walked past Cagalli to the staircase.

"It's not," she said causing him to stop at the foot of the stairs. "I made you worry unnecessarily. I won't do that again," she added turning around and making eye contact with him for the first time that night.

Kira looked at his sister before smiling and nodding. He then turned and ascended the stairs up to his room.

* * *

**Archerygurl:**

Kira and Cagalli = my favorite siblings  
I always think of Kira as being the big brother even though in Gundam Seed Cagalli says there's no way she's the younger one.

Reviews are loved!


	4. Venting

**Archerygurl:**

Thanks for the review, Moi.  
=)

* * *

**.::. Chemical Equilibrium .::.**

**Chapter 4: Venting**

**

* * *

**

After Kira was out of sight, Cagalli let out a deep sigh. Way too much had happened today. She was relieved that Kira had accepted her apology, but at the same time felt guilty that she hadn't told him everything. She kept telling herself there was no point in telling him though. He would only have worried; there was nothing he could have done. She wondered what had happened after Lacus returned home. Would Rey tell her father of the incident? If he did, Kira was sure to find out as well. At least Kira would sleep peacefully tonight. She let out another sigh.

"Now what?" she asked herself as she sat on the couch. It was Saturday night, well Sunday morning to be exact. She pulled out her cell phone and texted Miriallia.

"Still up?"

A couple of minutes went by with no response.

"Guess not," she said. With that determined she texted the next person on her list. This time, there was a response.

"Yep."

"Can I call you?"

"Sure."

Cagalli hit the 'call' button and waited for about two rings when she heard someone answer.

"Hello?" asked the male voice.

"Hey, sorry I missed your call earlier. My phone was on silent," she explained.

"You are back home now though, right?" he asked.

"Yeah,"

…

"Kira was really worried about you,"

"I know, Athrun. I didn't even think to check my phone. I apologized, but I know he's upset with me," she added sighing.

"Can't really blame him though," Athrun reasoned.

"I know, I know. I don't know what was wrong with me," she admitted.

"Well, it's over now. He called earlier asking if I knew where you were. Apparently he had called Lacus' house before, but you two had gone out for some project. They asked Kira if there was a problem and he said 'no'. Then he tried to contact you, but you didn't answer. He waited for a couple of hours and tried calling again, but you still didn't answer."

"He called more than twice," Cagalli added quietly.

"I'm sure he did. Anyway, he called Miriallia around eleven-thirty and asked if she was with you. She said she was, but that you and Lacus had headed home at eleven or so. That really made him panic. He called me again asking if I had heard from you, but when I said I hadn't he—well I you probably know the rest," Athrun added.

"Ugh, I'm so stupid," Cagalli muffled as she buried her face in the pillow.

"I know how you drive. It only should have taken you fifteen minutes to get back home. Where did you go?" Athrun asked.

"That's… well, I dunno," Cagalli said, trying to steer her mind away from everything that went on that night.

"You don't know?" The way she answered confused him more than what she had said.

"And we still have this stupid chemistry project to get done!" Cagalli yelled, but quickly closed her mouth when she remembered Kira had already gone to bed.

"Didn't you work on it today?"

"We were supposed to…" Cagalli felt herself reliving the past week. "Why did I spend so much time at school on Friday? I should have gone straight home after the student council meeting. That stupid meeting was long enough! Why sit in a room for three hours arguing that students should be allowed to bring in water bottles since it's freakin' 95 degrees outside. Oh, but we can't do that, because students might be bring vodka to class instead. Absolutely ridiculous!" Cagalli knew she was beginning a tantrum, but she couldn't help herself. "And teachers are a whole new issue all togehter. They tell us that we're going to have to do a project that's worth 40% of our grade and that a presentation will have to be given in front of ORB's National Chemistry Department, but then they only give us two weeks to complete it! And on top of that, there was that basketball game Friday evening that I had to attend thanks to the yearbook staff. Photos are the responsibility of the _photographers_, not the executive student council members. Stupid basketball game!" Cagalli yelled.

"Um," Athrun interrupted.

"Oh, not that it was a bad game. Actually, you guys did really well. Nice play during the second half, by the way. I mean that Shinn guy looked completely clueless, but you were still able to win by 12 points. But, why did I agree to attend? I knew I had a project to work on, but nooo, I thought I'd be perfectly alright with working on it on Saturday so I stayed until nine! And then you and your team just had to offer us ice cream! You know I can't pass up ice cream. So I just had to tag along with you guys," Cagalli continued.

"So… now it's my fault?" Athrun asked.

"Yes—wait, no, not at all. I'm just ranting right now. Can I just get it out?"

"Sure, continue," Athrun said smiling on the other end.

"So then by the time I got back home with Kira it was already twelve. And there was no way I was motivated to work on the project then. Well, I did look up some stuff related to it, but that's just basic stuff that anyone could do in like five seconds."

"So, you didn't do anything chemistry related then?" Athrun added.

"Yeah. And today! If I had just stayed focused when I went over to Lacus' house, we could have completed the assignment. But of course we didn't! Turns out we didn't have red apples or blueberries, which by the way taste gross. You don't by any chance grow them in your backyard, do you?"

"Actually, yeah," Athrun said.

"Oh my gosh, really?" Calligi yelled.

"No. Wow, I didn't think you were going to take me seriously," Athrun said laughing.

"Athrun! This is serious! Well, fine since you're no help-"

"Wait, since when am I helping you on this project?" Athrun said cutting her off.

"Oh right. I'm just letting out all my frustration on you. You'd made a good psychologist, by the way," Cagalli complimented.

"Psychiatrist, when it comes to you," Athrun corrected as he laughed.

"Hmph. Very funny. Okay, back to me," Cagalli said thinking about where she left off.

"Right, go ahead," he encouraged.

"Okay, so then we had to go to the grocery store to pick up the fruits, but of course the mall happened to be on the way and I, being the smart person I am, gave in to Lacus and we therefore found ourselves at the mall! And of course Miriallia had to be there when we were and she dragged us along to her favorite store, which had the weirdest name. Worse yet, she made us try on a bunch of these girly clothes and then Lacus decided it would be nice to buy me a dress for my birthday and I couldn't say no and then we-"

"Wait, you have a dress?" Athrun interrupted.

"Why is it that the dress is always what you guys pick up on!" Cagalli complained.

"So Kira knows about it too," Athrun said trying not to laugh.

"It's not funny!" Cagalli yelled.

"Yes, you're right. I apologize. I'm sure you looked very elegant," he assured.

"It certainly was not— wait, what?" Cagalli asked, slightly shocked at the compliment she just received.

" Hm? So what happened next?" Athrun asked.

"Um… wait, where was I?" She asked still not sure if she had heard Athrun correctly a second before.

"After playing dress up," he said holding back a laugh.

"Right… ok so then we _had _to go eat at the food court. I mean I was completely fine with getting something to eat back home—okay maybe I wasn't since my stomach was growling the loudest. But I shouldn't have sat there for so long! It was a good three hours. And before you say anything, we were _not_ eating for three hours. I guess since we're girls, we just had to do the whole gossiping thing. So we found out that Miriallia and Dearka were at the mall together earlier that day and then I was even more surprised when Lacus somehow knew that I liked—" But Cagalli's mind froze just before she said the name that came to mind. "Sushi."

Athrun clearly caught on to her inconsistency and waited a second before saying anything.  
"Uh huh," he said not quite convinced. "Was it really that surprising?" he asked.

"Y-yes. I mean, who would have thought that she'd know? Did you know I liked sushi?" Cagalli was tempted to bite her tongue while thinking of a way to get off this topic.

"Well, now that you mention it, you do look kind of like a sushi girl," Athrun added with a laugh.

"Anyway, we still hadn't gone to the grocery store! And it was eleven already. So I finally convinced Lacus and she agreed that we had to get going so we parted with Miriallia. And then we had to get to my car which was parked so far away! It's crazy how many cars were there earlier and how deserted it was when we walked out. Also, it was basically pitch black; they really need to do something about those lights. That way no one will get assaulted by stupid, crazy, teenage boys. I don't understand—" but before Cagalli could continue Athrun had interrupted.

"Assaulted?" he yelled more than asked.

"…." Cagalli's eyes widened. Had she really just said that?

"Cagalli, what happened?" Athrun asked in a calmer voice.

"N-nothing. What are you talking about?" Cagalli said trying to sound as casual as possible.

"You said assaulted. Were you-" Athrun started.

"Pfft, 'assaulted'? I think it's kinda late, you're hearing things. Are you sure _you're_ ok?" Cagalli asked trying to shift the topic again.

"Cagalli…"

"…"

"Cagalli…" he repeated in a soft, soothing voice.

"It really scared me… I could talk big, but when it came down to it, there was nothing I could do. We were lucky Rey appeared when he did," Cagalli said softly.

"Thank goodness you're all right," Athrun said with relief. "I'm sure you did what you could."

"Pathetic," she mumbled.

"I highly doubt it. You must have at least given them a hard time," Athrun said.

Cagalli snickered. She had, hadn't she? Athrun smiled.

"I guess I kinda did. He didn't expect me to try and punch him," she recalled.

"Whoa, even I wouldn't have expected that," Athrun admitted. "By the way, Kira doesn't know about this, does he?"

"Er- no. Please don't tell him! I know he'll just be even more outraged and probably won't talk to me for a couple of weeks," Cagalli pleaded in all honestly.

"Yeah. He'd also go and hunt that guy down," Athrun added earning a giggle from the girl.

"And beat him to a pulp," Cagalli added.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind doing that myself," Athrun said.

"Athrun?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he replied. "Know what time it is?"

"Nope, one?" she guessed.

"Try two-thirty," Athrun laughed.

"No way! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to go on rambling for that long! You must be exhausted, I'm sorry!" Cagalli said apologizing over and over again.

Athrun laughed, "I'm just glad I could help. I'll talk to you later, then?"

"Definitely. And yeah, you did. I really think you'd make an awesome psychologist," Cagalli praised.

"Psychiatrist, crazy," Athrun said.

"Athrun!" Cagalli yelled, but it was too late. He had already hung up. "Jerk," she muttered to herself, but couldn't help smiling. She headed up to her room and tossed her phone onto the bed before heading off to the washroom to get ready for a nice, comfortable sleep. After changing into her pajamas and brushing here teeth she headed back to her room. Before she shut the lights off she noticed her phone blinking. A text message? She walked over to read it.

_Good night, sweet dreams_

_- Athrun_

_

* * *

_

**Archerygurl:**

I'm really a fan of Athrun/Cagalli, so I kinda had to put in a random chapter about them.  
Anyhow... maybe the new day will finally bring in some chemistry... (Naaaaah :D )  
On to Sunday morning!


	5. Brunch

**.::. Chemical Equilibrium .::.**

**Chapter 5: Brunch**

**

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**

Cagalli tossed around in her bed. She peeked over at her alarm clock and saw that it was already 12:00 p.m. Surprisingly Kira hadn't barged in and dragged her out of bed. That was odd. She was never allowed to sleep in this late. Just as she was about to pull the covers over her head, she heard a knock at her door.

_Should have known it wouldn't last long._

"You up?" asked the brunette as he poked his head through the door.

"No," answered the blonde as she hid her head under her pillow.

"It's about time," he said walking in. "You really need to clean up your room," he added trying to avoid stepping on the clothes and books she had lying on the floor.

"Yeah, I will," she promised.

"I recall hearing that a week ago," he said chuckling.

"It's gotten better though," she defended still hiding under the blanket.

"Shoved stuff under your bed?" he questioned.

"No…" she answered slowly.

"Right. Anyway, you planning on getting up? Don't you have to work on that project?" he added causing Cagalli to bolt up.

"Ah! That's right! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" she complained ruffling her hair in frustration.

"Well, I just figured I should let you sleep since you were on the phone so late last night," He reasoned.

"I could have been up. I should have just set my—wait, phone?" she questioned looking at her brother. Her amber eyes were wide awake now. _Had he heard everything she said last night? No way. If he had there would have been no way she could have had such a peaceful sleep._

Kira noticed her deep in thought and let out a laugh. She gave him a puzzled look.

"Nothing to stress over. I called Athrun today. We were supposed to meet and study for an upcoming calc exam, but when I hadn't heard anything from him by nine I called to see what he was up to. He was half asleep when he answered the phone. He's not someone who usually sleeps in. I finally found out _you_ were the cause," he said flicking his sister's forehead.

"Ow," she complained rubbing her head. "Of course he blamed me!" she said sarcastically. "But he didn't tell me what time it was, so it's not my fault. I was just rambling. He could have stopped me," She said still rubbing her head.

"Nah, he didn't blame you. I think he was actually trying to cover for you, but you can't hide anything from this," Kira said pointing to his head.

"Hah, yeah right. I bet you wouldn't let him go till he told you," she said watching Kira shrug. "You're so nosey," she added. _She was thankful though. It seemed that he hadn't told Kira about everything._

"By the way, after you and Lacus left the mall last night…" his voice trailed off.

_Or maybe he had…_ Cagalli bit her lower lip, not sure of what to say.

Luckily, nothing.

Kira's phone rang from the other room causing them to both look at the door.

"Better go get that!" Cagalli blurted out, leaping out of bed and basically pushing Kira out the door. After she had successfully shoved him out she closed the door before leaning on it and letting out a sigh. She looked around her room and wrinkled her nose. The room was a complete mess. Maybe she should clean it up today. First, though, she'd have to call Lacus and find out what the plan was. Before she could grab her cell, her stomach growled.

_Okay, maybe food first, then project. _

She headed for the bathroom to freshen up.

.:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:.

"Hello?" Kira asked answering his cell.

"Hey Kira, sorry about earlier. Do you want to meet around four to study?"

"Don't worry about it. You just sounded so out of it, Athrun," Kira said laughing. "Anyway, yeah, four sounds good. How about we meet at the library?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you then," he replied.

"Yep," Kira said as he hung up.

As he walked down the hall he heard the sound of pots and pans. Was Cagalli cooking? Hah, that was a funny thought. He decided to head down the stairs and figure out what she was up to.

"Hey," he said as he walked into the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" she asked as she chopped some tomatoes.

"Cooking. And that's why it scares me," he added with a smile.

Cagalli looked up from the cutting board to glare at him. Her amber eyes locked with his violet ones. "I'm not completely useless," she said as she turned around to wash the green pepper she pulled out of the fridge.

"Never said that," he said as she made a 'hmph' sound. Apparently she was making omelets. After cracking an egg, she placed it in a bowl followed by pieces of cut tomatoes and green peppers.

"Hm, what else?" she said more to herself than Kira.

"Cheese?" he suggested.

"Ah, yeah," she said as she opened the fridge again. She then placed a pan on the stove and began heating it. Soon after, she added some oil. All the while Kira was still watching her. "I'm not going to burn the house down," she said as she looked up at him.

"Make me one," he said watching the pan.

"What?" she asked.

"An omelet," he clarified.

"Since when are you willing to try my cooking?" she asked with disbelief.

"I was never against it; I just never see you cook. You have some vegetables left over anyway. Could you?" he asked again.

"Sure, I guess," she said as she opened the fridge again. "Do you want cheese in your omelet too?"

"Sounds good," he replied.

Cagalli pulled out a separate bowl and placed the other egg in it. After adding the tomatoes and green pepper she began mixing it all together with a fork. She held her hand over the pan and nodded, signifying that it was warm enough. Just as she raised the bowl over the pan Kira called out.

"Cagalli, wait!" but it was too late. She had already poured half of the contents into the pan. It was too much at a time, however, and caused the oil to splatter out. She jerked back, but not before the oil had spashed out of the pan and landed on her hand. She yelped and jumped up and down while waving her hand around. By this time Kira had stood up and moved over to his sister. He pulled her over to the sink and turned the cold water on after placing her hand under the faucet. After she had calmed down she removed her hand from the sink. Kira turned the faucet off.

"Stupid pan," she whined.

"It was your own fault," Kira said as he examined her hand. "You should know better than to dump the entire thing in there at once. It's the same principle in chemistry. You never add two chemicals together that abruptly."

"I- I know that," she said snatching her hand away.

"It looks fine," he assured as he walked over to the cupboard. "But you might as well put a bandage on it," he added as he pulled out the first aid kit.

"It's okay. It really isn't that bad," she said looking at her hand again.

"Do you want to have to tell everyone that you got that burn because you couldn't fry an egg?" He asked as he handed the bandage to her.

"Fine," Cagalli said as she grabbed the bandage from his hand and looked away.

Kira just smiled. It was nice having a sister. Although she would sometimes irritate him, the fun times of teasing and taking care of her greatly outweighed the troubling times. Cagalli, too, was thankful for having Kira as a brother. Despite the fact that he was overprotective at times, she always enjoyed spending time with him. It was embarrassing that she would so often get into trouble and have to be bailed out by Kira, but deep down she felt that he was the best brother anyone could hope for.

After putting the bandage on she walked back over to the stove and poured the rest of the egg onto the pan, in a more gentle fashion this time.

"Do you want orange juice?" Kira asked as he opened the fridge and took out the container.

"Is there anymore apple juice?" She asked without turning around.

"Don't see any. There's this 'Orange, peach, mango' stuff though," he added as he pulled that out of the fridge as well.

"Yeah, I'll take that," she said as she began to add pieces of cheese to the egg.

Kira opened another cupboard and pulled out two glasses. After pouring the drinks he took the glasses to the kitchen table. When he returned to put the juices back in the fridge he noticed Cagalli looking at him.

"What's up?" he asked as he opened the fridge.

She mumbled something.

"Huh?" he asked turning around to face her.

"I need help," she mentioned quietly avoiding eye contact.

"With?" he asked tilting his head.

"I can't flip the egg…" she said softly.

Kira stopped himself from laughing. He knew she disliked asking others for help, especially for something that was rather simple.

"Sure," he said as he stood next to her and looked at the egg. "Well… you flipped it half way… kind of," he said wondering how exactly she managed to do what she did.

"Okay, so I'm not the best chef," she admitted moving aside.

"You just have to practice. I'm sure it'll taste better than it looks," he said as he flipped the egg with no trouble at all.

Cagalli frowned. He had done it so easily.

"I don't think it can taste worse than it looks," she admitted sighing.

"We'll find out soon enough. Hand me a plate," he said motioning to the cupboard.

Cagalli obeyed and brought down two plates. She placed them on the table and watched as Kira placed one of the omelets on it. He then handed the spatula back to Cagalli motioning for her to do the next one. She gladly took it. Her eyes showed a great deal of determination as she began to pour the other omelet onto the pan.

"Good thing it didn't spill this time. Otherwise I think I would have had to buy you a pair of goggles," Kira joked.

"Nah, I would have just borrowed the ones from the chemistry lab," Cagalli said playing along with her brother's remark.

"True, true," he said as he put two pieces of bread into the toaster.

After a couple moments Cagalli shrieked.

"What happened?" Kira asked turning around.

"Look! I flipped it and it looks normal!" she exclaimed, very proud of her accomplishment.

"Congratulations," he said as he handed her a plate for the second omelet.

"Thanks," she said as she smiled at him.

.:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.:.

"Cagalli, this is really good. You should make brunch more often," Kira said as he took a sip of his orange juice.

"Who knew I had it in me!" she exclaimed "So, what are your plans for today?" she asked as she took a bite of her taose.

"Well, I'm going to be meeting Athrun at the library around three. When are you and Lacus getting together?"

"Don't know. I have to call her," Cagalli said as she finished up her meal. "Want me to take your plate?" she asked when she noticed Kira was done as well.

"It's fine. I'll wash it," he said as he stood up as well. "We should eat together more often," he added as he walked over to the sink.

"Yeah, more bonding time!" Cagalli cheered as she began washing her plate. "Hey Kira…" she said mischievously.

"What…?" he asked looking at her suspiciously.

Before he could ask anything else she took a handful of water and threw it at him.

"Cagalli!" he yelled closing his eyes. Just as he was about to grab her she jumped to the side and made a run for it.

"That's what you get for hitting me on the head this morning!" she called as she ran up the stairs.

Kira simply shook his head.

"Crazy girl."

* * *

**Archerygurl:**

I really like stories showing the sister-brother relationship between Cagalli and Kira, so I decided to write one of my own.  
Hope you liked it.  
Sorry there's no chemistry related stuff in this chapter... I'll get back to that... hopefully, haha

Oh, and also. I'd like to share something with everyone. "Orange Peach Mango" is a real juice and it is simply... AMAZING.  
You must try it.  
kthnx =)

Please review!


	6. Shopping for Drama

**Archerygurl:**

Okay, now it's kind of confusing. This is a new updated chapter. I ended up combining the previous chapter 1 and 2. So every other chapter got pushed back. But this one's new!  
Hope you enjoy reading it!

Thanks for the reviews! (even though they're now all out of order thanks to my reorganization )

* * *

**.::. Chemical Equilibrium .::.**

**Chapter 6: Shopping for Drama**

**

* * *

**

As Cagalli walked down the hallway she heard the house phone ring.

"I got it," she yelled down the hall to Kira as she grabbed the land line. "Hello?"  
"Hey, Cagalli. How are you?" asked a cheery voice on the other line.

"Oh hey, Lacus. Pretty good. Sorry, I meant to call you earlier, but I was distracted with making me and Kira breakfast- well brunch, actually," Cagalli said remembering the events of the rather short day.

Lacus giggled.

"What?" Cagalli asked confused by her laughter.

"I just never imagined you cooking." Lacus said stifling her laughter. When she didn't hear a response from the blonde she continued. "Though I'm sure you're very talented," she encouraged.

"Yeah, yeah," Cagalli said brushing it off. "Anyway, about last night…"

"Don't worry. Rey didn't tell my father," Lacus said as she heard her friend sigh in relief.

"I had no idea what I was going to do if Kira found out," Cagalli admitted.

"Found out about what?" Kira said as he entered the room Cagalli was in.

"K-kira?" Cagalli exclaimed almost dropping the phone as both her eyes and mouth widened.

"Yes…?" he asked confused as to why she was so startled, but decided to ignore it and walked over to the table and picked up a magazine and began flipping through the pages nonchalantly. "Who are you talking to?"

Cagalli regained her composure. "Lacus," she answered.

"Huh?" the pink haired girl asked.

"Oh nothing. Kira was just eavesdropping," Cagalli said calmly.

"I was not!" he yelled, looking up from the magazine and glaring at her.

Cagalli just smiled.

"Anyway, Lacus," she said as she walked over to the couch in the room and sat down.

"Oh yes. I spoke with Professor Ramius earlier this morning. She said she would keep the lab open today so that students can come in and finish up their projects," the girl responded.

"That's perfect!" Cagalli burst out, getting a strange look from her brother who came to sit by her. She just mouthed the word 'chemistry' to him and he nodded.

"What time would you like to meet and work on it?" Lacus asked.

"Um, what time is it now?" she asked as she leaned over her brother to look at his watch.

"It's 2:30," he answered as he shoved her with his elbow and continued reading.

"Hmph," she said before continuing with Lacus. "Okay, how about we meet up around three in the chem lab?" she suggested.

"But we still need to buy the fruits," Cagalli's lab partner reminded.

"Ah, that's right. Well, how about four then? That gives me time to stop by the grocery store first," Cagalli said.

"Okay, that sounds fine. I'll see you then?" Lacus asked.

"Yep."

"Oh, and Cagalli?" she said hesitating.

"Hm?" Cagalli said listening to what she had to say.

"Could you tell Kira I say 'hello and hope he's doing fine'?" Lacus managed to say. Cagalli could tell she was probably blushing on the other line.

"Sure thing. See you later then," Cagalli said as she smirked and looked over at her brother causing him to shift in his seat. "Oh, you want to talk to him?" she asked making her brother's amethyst eyes grow to twice their size. "Actually, he's kind of busy at the moment," she quickly finished.

At that point Kira jumped up. "I can talk," he said reaching his hand out for the phone.

"Oh no, it's all right," she said waving her hand at Kira. "I think he's in the middle of reading an article for one of his classes."

"No, I'm not busy!" he yelled trying to grab the phone from her.

"Yeah, ok. I'll talk to you later then. Maybe you can get a hold of him another time," she said just as he grabbed it.

"Lacus?" he asked as he managed to pry the phone away from his sister. Cagalli snickered as she heard her brother say 'hello' again. She then felt kind of bad as she heard the disappointment in his voice. "Cagalli!" he yelled after he hung up the phone.

"Kira, she hung up after I said 'see you later'. I was just pulling your leg. Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you that much," Cagalli said feeling a little ashamed at her prank.

"WHAT?" he yelled as he gave his sister a completely glare which read I'msogoingtokillyou.

She laughed nervously.  
"…." Without another word he stood up and walked out of the room.

"Kira! Wait, I said I was sorry!" she called as she started to follow him. He still didn't say anything. "Come on! Besides, I need a ride to the grocery store to pick up some stuff for the chemistry project and since you're already going to meet up with Athrun…" she added still following him.

He stopped in his tracks causing his sister to run into him. She looked up at him, but immediately avoided eye contact when she saw his expression.

"Just walk," he said calmly.

"You've got to be kidding!" she shrieked.

"Does it look like I'm kidding?"

"Kira! It was a joke. I apologized already," she said. When he didn't respond and continued walking she sighed. "Okay, do you want to know what Lacus really said?" she asked watching him stop. She waited till she was sure she had his attention and continued. "She asked how you were doing and to give you a 'hello'" she finished.

"I see," was all Kira said.

They both stood there for a couple of seconds before he continued. "Well, if you want a ride to the store you better hurry up. I'm leaving in a half hour," he said as he walked back down the stairs.

"Thanks," she called after him as she ran to her room to get ready. She still had to take a shower and get dressed before she could head out. He wouldn't leave her, right? Second thought… pick up the pace. Better to be safe than sorry.

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As Cagalli stepped out of the bathroom her hair was dripping wet.

"Cagalli, what's taking you so long?" her brother hollered up the stairs.

"I'm almost done! I just have to blow dry my hair," she called back.

"Why? It's pretty hot outside. That'll work," he responded.

"No it won't! I'll end up looking like a fuzz-ball," she yelled back.

"You're doing a chem project. It's not like you have to try and look good. You'll probably blow something up anyway," he said from the bottom of the stairs. Not the wisest thing to say. He ended up jumping back as a book was thrown down the steps. "What are you doing, you crazy woman?" he yelled as he made sure to stay away from the bottom of the stairs.

"Fine, I'm done," she said as she walked down the stairs.

Kira gave her one look and was about to say something, but closed his mouth when Cagalli glared.

"What now?" she asked frustrated.

"Um… maybe you should go dry your hair," he said looking down.

"ARGH! You're so difficult!" she yelled as she stormed back up to her room.

A couple of minutes later she came back and found Kira waiting in the living room playing with his keys. He looked up and frowned.

"I'm never agreeing to take you anywhere again. It's already 3:35," he said looking at his watch. But at least you look more presentable," he added as he stood up.

"Whatever," she said rolling her eyes as she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

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On their way to the grocery store the car was silent until Kira broke it.

"So while I was waiting for you I went ahead and looked some stuff up about natural pH indicators," he said causing Cagalli to glance over at him.

"And…?"

"You could also test the skin of a lemon and some flowers," he said.

"What flowers?" she asked thinking that would be a good idea.

"I think roses and poppies would work," he said.

"Sounds good, I bet the store carries those too. Thanks Kira!" she said as they pulled into the parking lot.

"It's not like I had anything else to do since it takes you years to take a shower," he said opening the door and earning a glare from his sister. As they entered the store he told her to hurry up as it was already 3:50.

"Okay, okay," she said as she grabbed a basket and headed down the fruit aisle. "Hm, this one looks good," she said to herself as she grabbed two ripe lemons and placed them in the bag.

"Cagalli!" a voice called from down the aisle.

"What's up?" she asked without looking up at the person. "Where are the blueberries?" she asked looking to the side. "Ah, here we go."

"What are you doing here?" the voice asked as amethyst eyes watched Cagalli curiously.

"I'm just picking up a couple of things for our chem project," Cagalli asked finally looking at the blonde girl beside her. "What are you up to, Stella?"

"Stellar and Sting are doing the same thing," she said with an innocent smile. "And then we are going to the school to finish it."

"That's awesome!" Kira said coming up behind the girls.

"Kira? You really need to stop eavesdropping on people," Cagalli scolded as he scowled at her.

"Hello. How is Kira?" Stellar greeted still smiling.

"Fine, thanks. Actually, I was wondering if you and Sting could do me a favor?" he asked, his voice full of hope.

"Of cou-" Stellar started before she was interrupted by her partner.

"Depends," Sting said as he walked up to the group of three.

"It's just that I've got a study group at four, but I still need to drop Cagalli off at the school. Do you think you could give her a ride since you're heading there anyway? I'll pick her up," Kira said checking his watch for the seventh time.

"Kira! I'm not a piece of luggage. You can't just ask people to take me here and there," Cagalli criticized.

"It's all right. We can take you, right Sting?" Stellar asked giving Sting her innocent gaze.

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," he said scratching the back of his head. He sighed; there was no chance of fighting that look.

"Thanks so much," Cagalli said.

"Yeah, it's a big help. Alright, I'll see you later then," Kira said as he practically ran out the door.

Cagalli shook her head. "And I'm sorry," she said.

"There's no reason for Cagalli to be sorry. Stellar is happy that you are coming with us," Stella said with her usual cute smile.

Sting just nodded as he showed them his basket.

"I think we have everything we need," he said. "I'm gonna go ahead and pay for it. I'll meet you guys by the car," he added as he went to the check out line.

"Sure thing," Cagalli said.

"What else does Cagalli need?" the blonde girl asked as she looked at Cagalli's basket.

"Hm, some red apples and some flowers. Roses and… sunflowers, I think," Cagalli said trying to remember her brother's suggestion.

"Stella can bring the flowers! They are so pretty," she said causing Cagalli to giggle.

"Okay, thanks," Cagalli replied. "I'll grab the apples, then."

With that they headed in separate directions and met up at the checkout line a couple of minutes later. After Cagalli was finished paying they headed out to Sting's car. He was already waiting in the driver's seat.

"Wow, nice car," Cagalli said admiring the brand new vehicle.

"Thanks," he said as he locked the doors and sped out of the parking lot. It was already 4:15. Cagalli went ahead and texted Lacus.

"_Hey, sorry I'm late. I'll be there in about ten minutes."_

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As Sting pulled into the school parking lot, the three of them noticed a group of students gathered around the entrance.

"I wonder if there is an event happening?" Stellar asked looking over at her partner who simply shrugged.

"No look, there's Lacus," Cagalli said pointing at a familiar pink haired girl. "And Sai's there too with… Flay," Cagalli said as she wrinkled her nose. The blonde wasn't very fond of the crimson haired girl.

" Stellar can see Auel and Shinn too!" Stellar chirped as she opened the window and waved.

"So, basically it's our chemistry class," Sting stated as he parked the car. Stellar turned to face him and nodded with a bright smile. Cagalli couldn't help but giggle at the girl's actions. She was too cute. The three of them exited the car and walked up to the group gathered behind the school.

"Hey, Auel, what's going on?" Sting asked as he walked up to the boy with teal hair. Stellar was close behind. Cagalli had walked past the group to where Lacus was standing and showed her the groceries she had picked up.

"I dunno, I just got here," He answered shrugging his shoulders. "Ask her," he said pointing to a girl with pigtails.

"She has a name," spat a spiky haired boy as he glared at Auel.

"It's fine, Shinn," the girl with pigtails assured. "Well, we're all here to finish our chemistry projects, but the janitor locked the door before he left for the weekend so-" but before she could continue, a girl with magenta hair interrupted.

"And now we're stuck outside. We called Professor Ramius though and she said she'll be here to let us in," she finished. She noticed that Sting wasn't paying attention to her, but was still looking at the girl with pigtails. Her indigo eyes showed a bit of irritation, but she let it slide and walked back over to Shinn.

"You're in our class?" he asked the girl with a puzzled look.

"Um, yes," she answered avoiding his gaze.

"Duh, Sting. She's my partner. Does 'Meyrin' ring a bell? And quit staring at her, you're freaking her out," he said as he nudged Sting with his elbow.

"Oh, sorry," Sting said, lacking emotion.

"I wonder how long it'll be before she shows up," Cagalli pondered aloud.

"She should hurry up. This heat is not good for my skin," Flay said as he fanned herself with a magazine. "Sai, where is my water bottle?"

"I thought I put it in my backpack," answered the boy in glasses as he searched through the bag. "I guess we left it in the car."

"Do you think you could be a dear and get it for me? It's _sooo_ hot. I think I'm getting dehydrated," she said faintly as she put her hand up to her forehead.

"You have a fever too?" Cagalli asked earning a couple snickers.

Flay ignored her and continued to look at Sai.

"Sure thing," he said as he headed out to the parking lot.

There was an awkward silence. Cagalli wasn't sure what to say, but the silence was annoying her. She wasn't one to usually just sit around and enjoy the chirping of birds, but she also wasn't one to have a friendly conversation with these people. Sure, they all had class together, but outside of it they rarely talked. The chemistry class was pretty small this year—only ten students to be exact. Of course there was Cagalli and Lacus, whom had been friends way before either of them had even attended this high school. Then there was Stellar, one of the sweetest persons Cagalli had ever met. She was as innocent as a child, but sadly people would sometimes try to take advantage of that. Of course, Sting would never let that happen. He was always looking out for her. Cagalli wasn't really sure what their relationship was. Maybe siblings? Then there was Auel who was the complete opposite of Sting. He would occasionally tease Stellar; he even made her cry once. Surprisingly, it wasn't Sting who stood up for Stellar, but Anger Management.

Oh, that was Cagalli's nickname for Shinn. For some reason he hated Cagalli. She had no idea why, but didn't let it bother her either. She just figured it was his personality and that he had serious bipolar issues. Cagalli wondered how he managed to have friends with that kind of attitude. How could Lunamaria stand to be with him so often? Luna was his chemistry partner. She was okay, a little too boy crazy though. Actually, she wasn't crazy about every guy that walked by. Just Athrun. But that was enough to agitate her. As a person, Cagalli didn't mind her though. It was just the whole Athrun thing that didn't fly. Her younger sister, Meyrin, also had a crush on Athrun. It wasn't obvious to everyone, but Cagalli noticed easily. She wondered if she was being a little too perceptive, especially since she and Athrun weren't even… together. She couldn't blame the girl though. Who could resist such a gorgeously, sweet, adorable, delicious—Cagalli was momentarily brought back from her thoughts as she heard Flay sigh loudly, clearly trying to show her frustration with waiting outside in the sun.

Flay really irritated Cagalli. She always tried to use people to her own advantage. Currently, Sai was the victim. It was even more aggravating because the guy she chose seemed to always fall for her, even if they knew what she was up to. Kira was no exception. Luckily she, with the help of some of their other friends, was able to enlighten him. That was a terrible month, Cagalli recalled. Cagalli was again brought back from her subconscious thoughts by a giggle.

"Shinn, stop glaring at that rock. It hasn't done anything to you," teased the girl with magenta hair.

"Shut up, Luna," he snapped as he turned to glare at the girl instead.

"Why is Shinn upset?" Stellar asked as she bounced over to the two.

Shinn turned around to face the girl, but hadn't realized she would be just inches away from his face. Her head was tilted and she was giving him a curious look.

"I-I'm not upset," he stuttered looking away from the blonde in front of him as a blush crept up to his cheeks.

"That is good, then," Steller said smiling, completely unaware of her effect.

"Y-yeah," Shinn responded still refusing to look at Stellar.

Luna huffed.

Cagalli smiled at the scene in front of her. She knew Shinn was as stubborn as a goat, but that whole character shattered when Stellar was around. On top of that, the innocent girl wasn't even aware of her talent. She could completely take the 'jerk' out of him.

"Cagalli?" came a soft voice brining her back from her thoughts.

"Ah, sorry. I zoned out," she apologized.

"It's fine. I was just asking if I could see the receipt so that I can pay for half of the items," Lacus said pointing at the grocery bag.

"Don't even worry about it," Cagalli said shaking her head.

"Are you sure?" Lacus asked unsure. "Going through all that trouble…"

"It was no trouble at all," Cagalli assured. "Really, especially since you bought me that dress."

Lacus simply nodded.

"Ew, you bought a dress?" Shinn asked giving Cagalli a disgusted look.

"Sh-shut it, Dracula!" Cagalli snapped. Okay, maybe she could come up with a reason or two as to why he didn't like her. _Dracula_ had been a name she picked out for him ever since those blazing red eyes began glaring at her at the beginning of the year. It wasn't her fault though—he has basically asked for it.

Shinn opened his mouth to retort, but stopped at the sound of a girl whining… again.

"Oh my gosh! This heat is killing me," Flay complained, gaining everyone's attention once again.

"It's not that bad," Luna commented looking up at the sun.

"With the damage that's already been done to your face, of course it's not that bad," Flay said rolling her eyes.

"W-what did you just say?" Luna yelled as her usually calm indigo eyes flashed a dangerous dark blue. She stormed over to Flay and was about to smack her, but a hand held her back.

"Luna, calm down," Shinn said calmly.

It never ceased to amaze Cagalli that Shinn could be furious one moment and calm and collective the next.

"You're the last person I need to hear that from!" she hissed, switching her anger over to the boy.

Shinn's grip on Luna's wrist tightened and his eyes turned a deep, dark crimson color causing the girl to momentarily shut her mouth.

"Onee-chan, just don't listen to her," Meyrin said as she jumped into the scene.

"Stay out of this, Meyrin," Luna shouted, causing the girl in pigtails to shudder.

"Hey, don't yell at her. She's just trying to help," Auel argued coming up beside Meyrin. Meyrin turned to the boy and smiled, mouthing a 'thank you'. Auel just nodded and scratched the back of his head.

"Flay, I'm sorry, but I couldn't find the water bottle," Sai said apologetically as he finally returned from the parking lot.

"What do you mean you couldn't find it? You must have forgotten it at your house! Why do I have to suffer for other people's mistakes?" she complained throwing her hands up in the air.

"There's some shade under that tree; you could sit there if you like," Lacus suggested as she pointed to a large oak tree.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Flay hollered.

"I'm sor—," Lacus started.

"There's no reason for you to apologize," Cagalli interrupted as she stared at the red haired girl.

Flay held her gaze for a couple moments, but decided it wasn't worth it and simply looked away with a simple 'hmph'.

"Um… Shinn?" Luna asked.

"What?" he asked turning his attention back to the girl.

"Can you let go of me?" she asked looking at her wrist.

"Ah!" Shinn said immediately releasing her hand. He was so caught up in the scene with Flay that he had completely forgotten about the happening with Luna. Without another word Shinn turned around and walked away, leaving a confused and flustered girl.

"Onee-chan, are you ok? You don't look so well all of a sudden," Meyrin asked with a worried look.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm perfectly fine," she said with pride.

"Okay…" Meyrin hesitantly said.

"Cagalli, before coming here I was at the library and I saw Athrun," Lacus recalled.

At the sound of Athrun's name, the two siblings' ears perked up.

"Oh yeah? Actually, I think that's where Kira was headed today. They're probably studying together," Cagalli mentioned casually.

"Yes, Athrun said it was rather odd. Kira is usually very punctual. I thought maybe he had gotten into some trouble…" Lacus said as her voice trailed off.

"Nah, he was just running a little late. Doesn't that happen to everyone every now and then though?" Cagalli said completely avoiding the fact that _she_ had been the _trouble_.

"Yes, I suppose so. Oh, he also asked how our chemistry project was coming along. I told him that we would be working on it today and that the presentation was coming up later this week. I couldn't remember what day it was exactly though," She said with a questioning look.

"Oh, the presentations are going to be on Tuesday. A bunch of people from outside are going to be coming to watch us. Is Athrun going to be coming by any chance?" Luna asked, butting into their conversation.

Cagalli and Lacus looked at each other for a moment. Lacus then turned to the girl and smiled sweetly, while Cagalli had a somewhat amused expression on her face.

"I'm not quite sure as I was not able to tell him what day they presentations were to be held. But I'll be sure to let him know. Thank you," she said still smiling.

"Oh, I see. It would be cool if he could come. You know, to share his knowledge of chemistry with us," she said looking over her shoulder at Meyrin. Meyrin gave her sister a puzzled look, but realized that Luna was looking for agreement. She nodded. "Hm, actually I can call him later and let him know. You don't have to worry about it," she added as she smiled at Lacus.

Lacus glanced at Cagalli for a second before answering the beaming girl in front of her. Meyrin could have sworn she saw Cagalli's eye twitch slightly, but she made no comment.

"I don't mind—" Lacus started.

"No really. I already have his number so it's all good," Luna said happily.

"All right," Lacus said as she kept her smile.

"Look! Stellar can see Professor Ramius!" Stellar called, causing everyone to turn to the parking lot. There, in fact, was their chemistry professor. She was currently walking over to her students.

"It's about time," Auel mumbled.

"I apologize for the delay. I hadn't realized that the doors would be locked," she said as she tried to unlock the door. "How is everyone?"

"Stellar and everyone are doing fine," Stellar said answering for everyone. No one seemed to mind.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said as she smiled at the girl. "And I hope everyone is ready for some chemistry," she added as she opened the door. Some nodded while others just ignored the comment. Everyone filed into the building and walked up the stairs to the chemistry lab. Being the first one up, Cagalli tried the handle of the lab, but realized that it was locked.

"Is it locked?" Shinn asked.

Cagalli just looked at him. He ignored her expression and decided to try the handle himself. When the door didn't budge, he just walked back over to Luna. Cagalli just shook her head.

"What's wrong?" the professor asked as she approached the group.

"The door's locked," Meryin answered.

"Oh? Well where did I put those keys?" she asked herself as she looked through her purse. A good two minutes went by with her searching when her cell phone rang. "Excuse me," she said as she answered the phone. "Hello? Oh wow, you were serious when you said you'd call as soon as you got a chance. Keys? Oh! Those are for the chemistry lab. I can't believe I left them in the café," she said scolding herself. "All right, I'll come pick them up. Thanks for letting me know. Yes, love you too," she whispered.

After she had hung up she realized there was no point in her whispering. The whole group was staring at her. Her cheeks turned a slight pinkish before she addressed everyone.

"W-well, I seem to have carelessly forgotten the lab keys. I'll be back momentarily," she said as she turned around and descended the stairs. After she was out of sight, the students turned to look at each other with puzzled expressions.

"Wait, we have to wait again!" Auel yelled, realizing the situation.

"That is rather irritating," Sting agreed.

"Stellar doesn't mind," Stella said with a bright smile causing the boys' frowns to disappear.

"Yeah, as long as we're not in the scorching heat," Flay said fanning herself again.

"I wonder who she was speaking with," Lacus asked no one in particular.

"Beats me," Shinn said shrugging his shoulders.

"Isn't it obvious?" Luna asked in disbelief. Cagalli and Meyrin simply nodded. It _was_ pretty obvious.

"Why don't you tell me, then?" Shinn challenged.

"Ugh, you're so dense!" Luna complained, getting another nod from Cagalli.

Shinn just glared at the two girls.

As the group waited for their instructor to return the conversations and bickering continued. If all this drama happened even before they started working, what could they expect to happen in the lab?

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**Archerygurl:**

Just out of curiosity, who is a Stellar x Shinn fan and who is a Lunamaria x Shinn fan?


	7. Disastrous Lab

**Archerygurl:**

The story is gradually drawing to a close. Thanks to all who read and reviewed.

* * *

**.::. Chemical Equilibrium .::.**

**Chapter 8: Disastrous Lab**

**

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With the constant talking and arguing, no one had even noticed that Professor Ramius had returned. She waited a moment before interrupting.

"I know you were having a grand time chatting and getting to know each other, but I'm afraid we'll have to get to work if you'd like to be prepared for the presentations this Tuesday," she said as she opened the door and walked in. "Make sure everyone has their safety goggles on before beginning," she added.

"These flowers are so lovely," Lacus remarked as she lifted one up and held it next to her cheek.

"Yeah, it's too bad they have to be shredded," Cagalli mentioned casually as she placed the other items on the lab bench. "I'll go ahead and get the peeler for the apples. Can you pull the petals off the flowers?"

"Of course," Lacus replied as she began pulling the red petals off the roses and placing them in a nearby beaker. "I recall reading that roses would be good pH indicators, but I'm not sure about these sunflowers."

"I dunno. I think Kira said they'd work. I guess we'll find out," the blonde responded as she walked away from her lab partner. "Professor Ramius, do you have a peeler?"

"Hm, we don't keep one in the lab. How about we check in the tech room?" she suggested as she walked to the door and motioned for Cagalli to follow.

"This is stupid," Shinn mumbled as soon as the professor had left the room.

"Maybe if you actually made an effort it wouldn't seem as bad," Luna argued while glaring at her partner. Shinn had his elbow on the bench and his cheek resting on his hand which was balled up into a fist.

"What effort? All we're doing is weighing pennies," he added with a yawn.

"You're so frustrating! I knew I shouldn't have agreed to be your partner," Luna cried.

"Fine."

"Wait, Shinn!" she called after him, but he had already walked away. "Ugh, well whatever," she muttered as she directed her attention back to the coins in front of her.

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"Sai, why do we need all these wires? I keep getting caught in them," complained the red head as she tried to untangle herself.

"We don't need those right now. We'll plug it into the outlet after we finish preparing all the solutions. You can just place them on the bench," explained the boy as he adjusted his glasses.

"There's no space on the bench," she said in an agitated voice. When she didn't get a response from Sai she simply dropped everything in her hands and went to go sit next to him.

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"Stellar, do you know where I could find another beaker?" Lacus questioned as she approached the girl. "The sunflowers and rose petals need to be placed in separate ones."

"Stellar thinks they are in the third drawer," she replied as she pointed over to the separate bench.

"Thank you," Lacus said smiling as she followed the girl's finger. As Stellar turned back to her partner she noticed someone standing in the doorway.

"Is your professor here?"

"Tech room," Shinn responded before Stellar had a chance. After abandoning Luna, Shinn had wandered to and from different lab stations and was currently watching Stellar and Sting's titration experiment.

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"Meyrin, are you feeling all right?" Auel asked as he gave his partner an uneasy look.

"I'm… fine," she replied. He didn't look convinced. "All right, I'm actually feeling a little dizzy. The lab isn't usually this hot," she admitted.

"Do you want to sit down?" he asked as he pulled over a chair.

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "But I think I just need some fresh air. I'm going to go open that window," she added. When she received a reluctant nod from her partner she began walking over to it. Auel watched her; he was afraid she was going to stumble over her own feet a couple of times, but she ended up making it. As soon as she had opened the window her face seemed to return to its normal shade. He smiled before turning his attention back to the boiling water in front of him.

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Shinn continued to sit by Stellar. By this time his irritated lab partner had walked over and was hovering around him. She demanded that he return to their work station and help with their project, but he simply shrugged it off. Stellar giggled, which only further aggravated Lunamaria.

"I've been doing all the work so far. It's hardly fair," she complained waiving around a bottle. "Could you at least help me with the next part? We have to see whether putting the different pennies into this copper sulfide solution will affect them in any way."

"Fine, fine," he said as he began to stand up.

"By the way, where did you get that?" she asked pointing to the red item in his hand.

"Over there," he answered tilting his head towards a different lab bench. His partner simply nodded.

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"Okay, the solutions are prepared," Sai said triumphantly.

"Now what?" his partner asked in a bored tone.

"We test out whether the solutions will disassociate into separate ions when placed in an aqueous solution. If they do so, the light bulb will detect it and shine brightly. If not, nothing will happen," he explained. When Flay looked at Sai with a blank expression he adjusted his glasses before continuing. "The purpose of our project is to determine which solutions are ionic. If they are ionic, the light bulb will go off." In response, Flay nodded her head and made an 'o' with her mouth. "Could you plug the cord into the outlet so that we can test it?" he asked as he lined up the solutions. She nodded before jumping up with the cord and heading over to the outlet.

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"I'm surprised that we're having this much difficulty finding a simple peeler," Professor Ramius said as she searched through the seventh drawer.

"I don't see one in this cupboard either," Cagalli added as she closed it.

"This really is odd," the professor said as she tapped her chin with her index finger.

"You girls wouldn't happen to be looking for this?" a third voice came from behind the two. Before either could turn around two hands had snaked around the professor's waist and a head rested on her shoulder. Cagalli's eyes widened in surprise, but quickly returned to normal as the professor swatted at the newcomer. "How in the world did you get into the tech room?"

"I'm more interested in why, of all things, you would steal a peeler," Cagalli said raising an eyebrow. "Also, can I report him for harassment?"

"You would do such a thing?" the blonde gentlemen pouted with the blonde girl before returning his attention to the brunette professor. "Ah, and you left the spare keys at my place," he added with a wink before releasing the professor and leaning on the counter. The professor blushed slightly, but realized it was pointless since her relationship with this man was quite obvious to everyone.

"I'm just as curious as Cagalli. Why would you come in here for a peeler?" the brunette asked after regaining her composure.

"For this of course," he responded holding something up.

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"I plugged it in!" Flay exclaimed, proud of her achievement.

"That took quite a while," Sai thought aloud as he looked at the wire plug. "Oh, you plugged it in all the way over there? You could have just used the outlet next to our bench. It would be less of a hazard." When he received a disapproving look from the crimson haired girl he quickly added something to please her. "But I think the current flows better from that outlet anyway." She smiled sweetly before ruffling the boy's hair and sitting next to him.

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"Pardon me for disturbing you, Auel, but I believe Stellar said the beakers would be in this drawer," Lacus said pointing to a drawer behind the boy.

"Oh, ok," he simply said as he moved to the side. Meyrin had returned and was curiously watching the girl. "Hey, you feeling better?" he asked.

"Much," she nodded. "It looks like the cup of water's started boiling. That took about… ten minutes," she added as she looked at the clock in the lab.

"Yeah, but the other chemicals didn't take half as long. Guess we have to figure out why water takes so long," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you both testing ammonium chloride as well?" Lacus asked.

"Yeah, and I think that's what's making me feel oozy," the girl in pig tails admitted, as she placed her hand on the table to help stabilize herself.

"Maybe we should move over by the window," Auel suggested.

"No, no, it's fine. We're almost done anyway," Meyrin assured.

"I'm sure the professor will understand if you are not feeling well. So there is no reason to push yourself so hard," Lacus said as she lifted a beaker from the drawer. Auel nodded in agreement.

Before Meyrin had a chance to argue that she was feeling okay, a fuming, amber-eyed blonde burst into the room. Her grand entrance caught the attention of everyone as they turned to see what all the commotion was about. They wondered what had happened to agitate Cagalli to this extent. The question was answered when she opened her mouth.

"SHINN!" Cagalli yelled causing everyone to shift their gaze from the blonde to the red eyed boy who was now standing next to Luna, but still beside Stellar and Sting. "Put that down right now!" she scolded pointing at the apple in his hand.

"Why?" he asked almost lazily as he took another bite. Cagalli almost shrieked as she watched him sink his fangs into the delicious, ruby, red apple.

"Shinn, you do know that you're not supposed to eat in the lab," Luna reprimanded, shaking her head.

"Or eat other people's chemistry projects!" Cagalli yelled pointing the peeler she had obtained from the male moments ago. "Mr. Flaga told me he came in here looking for the professor and saw you eating the apple, aka our chemistry project. It was so kind of you to offer him our second one!" she yelled in a sarcastic tone.

"No problem," Shinn replied calmly with an amused expression.

"Oh my. I had no idea he had taken the apple," Lacus admitted guiltily raising her left hand to her cheek and shook her head.

"Stellar thinks Shinn should return the apple to Cagalli," Stella said looking up at Shinn from her seat.

"It doesn't matter now since it's more than half eaten," Shinn stated as he tossed the apple from one hand to the other.

"Don't even think about it," Cagalli threatened as a smirk appeared on his lips. The whole room was silent as everyone watched to see what Shinn would do next and how Cagalli would respond. Just as he raised the apple to his lips, Cagalli took off. She charged towards him. She would have tackled him, had she not misjudged the path between them. By the time she had seen the cord lying on the floor ahead of her, it was too late to stop.

Down she went, face first, but not before the peeler had slipped out of her hand. Although her intent was to physically attack Shinn, the flying peeler was not a part of the plan. As such, it was not headed for the onyx haired boy. Instead, it was flying mere inches away, towards an innocent, blonde girl whose amethyst eyes widened in realization seconds later.

"Stella!" Shinn yelled. The girl had closed her eyes and placed her hands over them in an attempt to protect herself and lessen the pain she was sure was headed her way. However, it never came. She removed her hands and opened one eye to see a hand in front of her face, holding the killer weapon. "Are you all right?" Shinn frantically asked as he knelt down to her level and placed a hand on her shoulder. She slowly nodded in response and shifted her gaze from the boy next to her and the hand in front of her. It wasn't Shinn's hand that had protected her.

"Stella, are you all right!" Cagalli called out as she raised herself off the ground and sat on her knees.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Shinn snapped as he turned to glare at the blonde. Cagalli ignored Shinn, but apologized to Stellar. Stellar assured Cagalli she was all right and tried to give her friend the best smile she could. "Who freakin' throws a peeler?" Shinn yelled again.

"It was an accident and none of it would have happened if you hadn't taken the stupid apple and eaten it!" she spat back causing the boy to temporarily shut his mouth. "And who plugged this wire all the way across the room? There are outlets next to each bench!" she added.

"D-don't try to blame this one someone else!" Flay yelled, standing up from her seat. "I was just doing what Sai told me to!"

"Flay! I asked you to plug it in. _You_ were the one who decided to plug it in way over there," Sai defended, annoyed that she would so easily turn against him.

"You guys can deal with that on your own time," Shinn shouted turning his attention back to Stellar. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Sting protected Stellar," Stellar replied as she looked at her partner, who was still holding the peeler in his hand. "Thank you."

"It's no big deal," he said, placing the peeler on the bench. Just as he did so, a trickle of blood ran down his hand. Stellar's eyes widened in shock as she let out a shriek. "Stellar, it's all right. It's just a small cut," Sting said trying to calm her down. It was to no avail. The sight of blood seemed to trigger another side of her.

"Stella, relax," Shinn said as Sting removed his hand from her view. Sting managed to bandage his hand, but Stellar still refused to calm down. She began to get hysterical. In a final attempt to return her to normal, Shinn place both his hands on either of her arms. Unexpectedly, however, she jerked, causing the boy to stumble backwards into his partner. Luna lost her balance momentarily, but as she regained it the contents of the bottle had completely emptied onto her skirt. She screamed in annoyance and frustration.

"Onee-chan just bought that skirt too," Meyrin said shaking her head.

"That's what a washing machine is for though," Auel said nodding his head. Meyrin looked up at him with a somewhat dazed expression. He raised an eyebrow at her and was about to ask what was wrong, but she opened her mouth first.

"You, Auel—why are there… two of you?" she asked as she gave him a perplexed look.  
Hey… where'd you go?" Before he had a chance to respond she blacked out and fell backwards, but not before hitting Lacus. Luckily, Auel was able to catch hold of her before she hit the ground. Likewise, Lacus did not hit the ground, but instead had dropped the beaker she was holding and could only watch as it smashed onto the floor and shattered into a hundred pieces.

As if the shattering of glass was the last straw, Professor Ramius and Mwu La Flaga had walked into the lab.

"What on earth is going on?" she exclaimed as she witnessed the scene in front of her. Cagalli was sitting on the floor next to a wire which was stretched across the entire lab. On one end of the wire Flay waving her hands angrily at Sai, who was arguing back (for once). Sting was sitting on the lab stool with a bandaged hand watching Shinn who was hugging a teary Stellar. Next to them was an irritated looking Luna, who was attempting to scrub a brown stain off her skirt. On the opposite side of the lab was Auel trying to awaken an unconscious Meyrin with the help of Lacus. Beside these three the floor was shimmering with what appeared to be broken glass. She shook her head and turned to the man beside her.

"Look what happens when you come to visit me."

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**Archerygurl:**

Any and all comments are much appreciated!


	8. Reminisce

**Archerygurl:**

Ok, so I was bored and decided to add another chapter to this story.  
Originally this was going to be the last chapter, but I just kept adding random things so I thought it best to split it.  
Enjoy =)

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**.::. Chemical Equilibrium .::.**

**Chapter 9: Reminisce**

**

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**

Cagalli sighed as she looked out the window. It was drizzling. Supposedly there would be a thunderstorm later this evening. She rested her chin on her hand as she continued staring at the rain streaming down the window.

The past weekend was, to say the least, hectic. Somehow, after all the mayhem, everyone had managed to finish their designated projects. Still, the sky was pitch black by the time everything was said and done.

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_The girl threw her hands up in accomplishment. _

"_Finally!" she exclaimed. "I never want to see another red rose after this."_

_Lacus giggled at her partner's reaction, but nodded in response. Neither had expected to be in the lab this long. It was well past 9 p.m. and they still hadn't eaten dinner. _

_Cagalli glanced around the room. The two of them were one of the few still left in the building. Stellar and Sting had left a couple minutes ago. They had asked if Cagalli needed a ride home, but she assured them Kira would be coming to get her. Her other classmates had left long ago. As the instructor, Professor Ramius had to stay and make sure procedures were carried out properly. After everything was cleaned up the three were free to go._

"_We apologize for having kept you here for so long."_

"_Oh, it was no problem at all, Lacus. It gave me time to prepare for my lesson tomorrow," the professor assured as she locked the door to the lab. _

_When they had arrived in the parking lot a limousine had already pulled up to the curb. _

"_Looks like your ride's here, Lacus," Cagalli said, nudging her friend. _

"_Ah, you're right. Is Kira on his way to come get you?" She gave Cagalli a curious glance._

"_Hm, I texted him a while ago. He might already be on his way since he didn't respond." She looked at Lacus and saw the uneasy look she was getting. "Kira wouldn't abandon me, you know."_

_Lacus smiled, but asked if she should wait. Cagalli assured her it wouldn't be long before her brother came. Finally, she agreed and left Cagalli standing with the professor. _

"_Professor, Kira will be here in the next couple of minutes so you don't have to wait with me."_

"_It's all right, Cagalli. I don't mind waiting."_

_There was no point in arguing with someone whose mind was already made up so Cagalli decided to talk about other things. It was a little awkward at first, since it was a student talking to a teacher, but eventually things fell into place. Cagalli could talk to the professor as though she was a friend. And that was a nice feeling. _

_Cagalli stopped midsentence when she saw the headlights of a familiar car. _

"_Ah, he's here! Thanks for waiting with me, professor."_

_Murrue nodded before wishing Cagalli a good night and heading off to her own car. Cagalli waived at the car before it pulled up next to her. _

_She froze as the window was drawn down, revealing an all too familiar face. _

"_Hey, lookie here, it's blondie!" the boy exclaimed. "And she was even waiving at us." He let out a snort as he turned to the driver. _

"_Yeah, I knew she liked me." He winked at the girl before unlocking the door._

_Cagalli was still frozen in her spot. How in the world had they gotten here. The two boys from the mall. What were their names? Kaito and Rio, was it? Her mind told her to run, but another part of her questioned her actions. Where exactly was she supposed to run? She was at the school for heaven's sake. And what were the chances of them even coming by the school at this time. Life sure was… inconvenient._

_She managed to take a step back. _

"_Hey, what's wrong, girlie? You look like you've just seen a ghost. So is this your school? Nice place…" He opened the door and took a step towards her._

_Before he had a chance to say anything else she turned on her heel and was about to sprint when his hand caught her wrist. Memories of the mall incident flooded her mind as she struggled to release her hand from his grasp. _

"_Let me go, you idiot!" she turned to glare at the boy. _

"_Where's Pinkie?" he had ignored her threat all together and looked around as though Lacus would come prancing in seconds later. _

_Cagalli clenched her jaw shut to prevent herself from yelling unnecessary comments. She kept her glare and he only tilted his head to give her a lopsided smile. A second bright light had momentarily blinded her and she turned her attention to a new car pulling up towards them. She didn't recognize the car and her heart nearly skipped a beat. Was it another one of their friends? It was bad enough that it was two against one. Now what? Five against one? She stopped herself from shuddering at the thought._

"_What the heck?" She turned her attention to the boy who was holding her wrist. He was looking at his friend who was now out of the car and shrugging his shoulders. _

_So they didn't know what was going on either? Then she heard it: a familiar and comforting voice. Cagalli immediately shifted her gaze to the new figure standing before her, her eyes wide in shock and happiness._

"_What's going on here?" His voice was cold and distant. His usually calm eyes were narrow and piercing. _

_If it had been directed at her she was sure she would have been afraid. But at this very moment she felt infinitely protected, even if she was still in Rio's grasp. Without wasting a moment she snatched her hand away from the boy and stomped on his foot. It was a rather childish decision, but she didn't give it a second thought as she immediately ran towards her savior. _

_He was slightly amused at how she handled the situation, but didn't say a thing as he opened his arms as she ran into them, wrapping her arms around him. He assured her everything was going to be all right._

_He didn't release her as he looked up to the two staring at them in confusion. _

"_Cagalli, why don't you go ahead and take a seat?" he whispered. She nodded as he opened the passenger's seat for her. When he closed the door he turned his attention back to Rio and took a step towards him. _

_Rio gave him a smug look. _

"_Who are you supposed to be? The __**boyfriend**__? She sure does get around…" His voice was mocking and he immediately found himself stumbling backwards. When he had recovered he wiped the blood that trickled down his lip and shot him his deadliest glare. "W-why you!" _

_He would have lunged at the boy had his friend not intervened. _

"_Rio, don't you know who that is?" He struggled to get a hold of the rage filled guy. Kaito's statement seemed to calm the boy down. The statement was followed by whispering and Rio stared at the boy in disbelief. _

_ Finally he seemed to regain his voice as he let out a grunt. Kaito nodded and made his way back to the driver's seat of his own car._

_ "Whatever, that bitch isn't even worth it…" he mumbled as he tore his gaze away and turned to the car. _

_ In a flash Rio found himself pinned up against the car. He had been grabbed by the collar and was inches off the ground. Fear was written on his face as he glanced down at enraged eyes. _

_ "Don't you dare refer to Cagalli as such," he threatened, his grip tightening. Rio felt his breath leave him as he struggled to be released. _

_ Rio was dropped the second he saw that girl standing next to the boy. She had placed her hands on his arm and was shaking her head. _

_ "Please, can we just go home?" she pleaded. His eyes reverted to their calm, peaceful look as he nodded to her. He didn't give the boy a second glance as he allowed Cagalli to lead him back to their own car. When she was inside once again he turned to look at Rio. Neither said anything as they took their respective seats and left the scene in peace._

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_ There was a tense silence in the car. Neither said anything to each other. He was still angry, but at the same time wanted to comfort the girl next to him. _

"_Cagalli…"_

_Finally, she broke her silence._

_ "Where's Kira?" she kept her gaze down the entire time._

_ "He had to meet with our calc professor. It was short notice so he asked if I could pick you up. He said you had just texted him so I didn't think it was necessary that I call. I should have been there sooner. I'm so—" _

_ "Thank you." _

_ Her gratitude confused him as he turned to look at her. She, too, glanced at him and gave him a small smile. The rage that he had cooped up inside seemed to vanish completely when he saw her smile. _

_ "Anyway, I'd rather not talk about tonight." He nodded in understanding. _

"_So you guys were finally able to finish the project?"_

"_Yeah, even though Shinn decided to eat part of it." The expression she received was pure confusion. It was adorable and she couldn't help but laugh. _

_She explained everything to him during their ride home. She thanked him again once they had arrived at the house. Instead of pulling out of the driveway, he walked her to the door. _

"_It looks like Kira isn't home yet."  
"Yeah," she said as she unlocked the door. _

"_Want me to stay till he gets back?" She turned to give him a surprised look. His cheeks were tinted a slight pinkish and she was sure hers were as well. _

"_S-sure." _

_Kira had arrived home a half hour later to find them sitting on the couch watching a horror movie. He apologized for not giving Cagalli a head's up, but she simply gave him the silent treatment. He hovered over her, hoping for some reaction but still got nothing. His friend did nothing to help him. _

"_Well, I should be going." He stood up and made his way to the door, with Cagalli following behind. _

"_All right. Once again, thanks so much for bringing me home. Really… thanks," she looked at him tenderly and he nodded. "Good night, Athrun."_

"_Good night, Cagalli. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and don't be too hard on Kira." He winked and she let out a sigh before agreeing. _

_Once she had closed the door she turned her attention to her brother, who was sitting at the dining table, looking frustrated._

"_Kira Hibiki, I am disappointed in you." His expression harbored confusion. "I was worried when I didn't get a text back from you. You could have at least called to let me know you were all right. What if something had happened to you? And then you asked Athrun to pick me up? I didn't even recognize his car. What if I was hijacked by some unknown person. It was late, you know. And dark. I could have easily mistaken you for someone else and been abducted. Jeez, I sometimes wonder if you use that brain of yours!" She tapped him on the head three times. _

_He stared at her in awe. She could tell he felt really bad and was about to apologize again, but she cut him off. _

"_You know what else I thought when I was on my way home?" He looked at her curiously, but the apologetic look was still present. "It was more fun talking to Athrun than you."_

_She watched as her brother's look switched from apology to confusion and then to frustration. By the time realization had dawned she was at the top of the staircase. _

"_CagallI!" he called after. _

_Everything she had said about being disappointed in him was a complete lie. She was just getting back her him for lecturing her when she was late coming back from the mall the other day. _

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"Cagalli? Cagalli?"

She was suddenly brought back from her daydream as she noticed the teacher hovering over her. She had a goofy smile on her lips and quickly attempted to wipe if off before her musing became too apparent.

It was too late for recovery though.

"Now that you're back with us, would you like to share what you were thinking about?" Her professor smiled at her innocently.

"I-it was nothing, Mr. Watfield," she blushed at being caught.

"Right, well can you go ahead and answer the question then?" he turned to walk back to the front of the class.

A streak of panic crossed her face as she turned her attention to the book. Where in the world had they been reading from? She glanced around the class, hoping someone would help her. Shinn was sitting next to her. Heck, he would never tell her, so she quickly switched her attention to Lacus. But her pink haired friend was too far away. She was mouthing the answer to her, but Cagalli couldn't figure out what she was saying.

It was time to admit she had no idea what was going on.

"Um, what was the question again?" She heard snickers, but brushed them aside as she was given a second chance to prove herself.

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**Archerygurl:**

Now that I've reread the chapter I find it VERY random.  
hahahah, I have no idea where that came from. I guess I just wanted to bring back Rio and Kaito xD  
Oh and Athrun and Cagalli love =)

I'm rather bored of the 'chemistry' topic.


	9. Presentations

**Meisha:**

Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since I began writing this story. After I reread some of the chapters of this story I decided it would be best to go ahead and finish it up. It was my first fanfic written for this site and I hope it served its purpose of entertaining you.

Over the past week or so I began editing points in the story. Nothing critical; just minor changes in dialogue. The overall plot of the story is still the same. Oh, and I happened to change the title. "Chemistry Project" was just too bland.

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**.::. Chemical Equilibrium .::.**

**Chapter 9: Presentations**

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**

"I've been anxious the whole day. I can't believe we're going to be presenting tonight!" Luna exclaimed to Shinn as they passed Lacus and Cagalli in the hallway. "Good luck, you guys!"

"Best of luck to you as well," Lacus called after. She turned her attention back to Cagalli who was gathering her books from her locker. "Are you nervous?"

"I should be, shouldn't I?" Cagalli looked to her friend. "For some reason I'm not though."

"I'm sure we'll do a good job since we've been preparing. The project is only worth 40% of our grade anyway," she said, a little too brightly.

Cagalli gave Lacus an amused smile. _Only half our grade?_ Lacus gave her a curious look but Cagalli simply waved her hand.

"What are you going to wear, Cagalli?"

Lacus was met with a blank stare. She shook her head in disapproval.

"Professor Ramius said this is a formal presentation so we have to dress up. Ah! You should wear the dress we got at the mall!"

Cagalli crinkled her nose, but immediately realized her mistake when she saw her friend's crestfallen expression.

"Oh, you really didn't like that dress…"

"N-no, Lacus! It's a really nice dress; it's just that I'm not a fan of dresses in general. I wasn't insulting your taste in fashion or anything; it's just that—"

"So you'll wear the dress then." Cagalli knew it wasn't a question so she simply sighed in defeat. Lacus beamed with joy. "Okay, I'll see you at 6 tonight!" she waved as she lifted her backpack and made her way to the exit.

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"Cagalli, aren't you going to be late?" Kira called as he kept his eyes on his laptop.

It was already 5:30 and he hadn't seen her for the past hour or so. Maybe she was doing some last minute practicing. But it was too quiet for that. And a quiet Cagalli was never a good sign. Still, he continued typing away on his laptop, waiting patiently for her to come by.

"Kira?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you in the family room?"

"Yep."

"Can you go away?"

He stopped typing and turned to where the voice was coming from. She was still upstairs, talking to him from down the hall. He raised an eyebrow and asked why.

"Because…"

She sure was acting strange.

"I'm working on a paper; I can't leave it." He turned his attention back to his laptop.

"Okay… um… then just don't look at me."

Now he was really interested.

"Why?"

"Just don't… please?"

"Fine fine, whatever," he turned back to his paper. He didn't have time to play such strange games with her.

He heard her coming down the stairs. There was some shuffling, but he ignored it as he continued typing. Finally he heard her close the door. He turned around to make sure she was gone. A white bag caught his attention.

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Success! She had made it out of the house without Kira noticing her all dolled up like a little girl. She unlocked the door and was about to get in when she heard the familiar voice.

"Hey, you forgot your pur— "

She froze. She didn't want to turn around and face him. She knew what look he'd be giving her. She just waited for him to burst out laughing.

When it didn't happen she slowly turned around. She was surprised to see him smiling at her.

"You forgot your purse." He handed it to her and she nodded in thanks. "By the way, you look nice."

She searched his face for sarcasm. When she was satisfied that his answer was honest she smiled back at him.

She felt incredibly silly for her actions.

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"All right, are all the stations set up? Judging will begin as soon as the representatives arrive."

Cagalli had arrived on time and she, along with the others, had successfully arranged the presentations in the cafeteria. Why they did this in the cafeteria was a mystery to her, but apparently it was a tradition.

She glanced around the room and noticed that everyone was dressed nicely. She was thankful that the other girls had also chosen to wear dresses or skirts. She had expected Lacus to wear one, and of course the girl looked beautiful in her simple, frilly white dress.

Cagalli took the seat next to Lacus. On their left were Luna and Shinn and on their right were Meyrin and Auel. The atmosphere became quiet as the students' nerves began growing.

"There's no reason to be so tense." The professor chuckled as she glanced at the scattered expressions.

Suddenly, the assistant principal had made her appearance. She whispered something to the professor which resulted in a dismayed look. When she looked to the students she knew they knew something was up. "I'm afraid the Chemistry Department of ORB will be unable to make it tonight. They had some sort of incident in their virology lab—"

"Well, I'm out." Shinn stood abruptly in an attempt to leave. A hand on his shoulder not only caused him to stop in his tracks, but also to jump slightly.

"I'm afraid not, my boy." Somehow Mr. Flaga had appeared behind him. "Murrue, I have an idea about judging the students. Can we speak privately?"

She nodded and the two stepped into the hallway.

Minutes later they returned. The professor was smiling once again.

"We were able to make special arrangements. The judges will be here as soon as they can." Cagalli couldn't help but groan along with some of the others. She had really thought they would get out of this place early. She tugged at the bottom of her dress in frustration.

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A good twenty minutes had passed with no indication of judges appearing. Rather than manning their posts, Cagalli and the others had decided to wander around, helping themselves to the refreshments when the professor wasn't looking.

It had begun raining once again. It was harder than earlier in the afternoon, but nothing too bad. Cagalli was chatting away with Stellar and Lacus when Luna's words caused her to stiffen.

"Athrun!"

The others turned to see if Luna was speaking the truth. And sure enough Athrun, along with Kira and two others had come down. He smiled and Luna, along with her sister, had run over to him.

"I wonder what they're doing here," Lacus mused aloud. "Let's speak with them, Cagalli," she added as she turned her attention back to her friend.

But Cagalli wasn't there. She looked around in confusion and finally saw her friend sitting back behind the table.

"Cagalli?" Lacus had a feeling her lab partner was trying to hide for whatever reason.

"Um, it's fine. I'll just hang out here. I have to review these notes anyway." She flipped through some index cards.

Lacus would have questioned her, but the professor had cleared her throat, attempting to get their attention.

"All right, instead of ORB's Chemistry Department, we will have the top two groups from last year judging the presentations from this year. I'm sure you all know Kira, Athrun, Yzak and Dearka." She moved to the side and motioned to the four boys who had recently walked into the cafeteria.

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Judging had begun. Each judge would go to a separate project and listen to what the lab partners would have to say. While it was encouraging being judged by peers, it brought a sense of intimidation as well.

"Kira!" Lacus exclaimed as he walked over to the two girls.

"Hey Lacus, how are you?"

"I'm fine. How are things with you?"

"Pretty good, but a little stressful, I have to admit."

"Oh, that's not good. I heard you are taking calculus now. I'm sure it's challenging. I'm a bit nervous to take it next semester actually."

"There's no reason to be nervous. I'll be there to help you." He smiled and she returned it.

Cagalli cleared her throat and the two looked at her. They looked back at each other before Lacus decided to stare at the floor and Kira nervously scratched the back of his head. Cagalli shook her head in amusement. Kira took notes on their procedure and methods and nodded before moving to the next group. Dearka had come by next.

"Hey, Cags."

"_Never_ call me that again." Cagalli glared at him and he laughed.

"Just wanted to try it out. OK ok, so you guys did something with pH?" He glanced at their poster presentation before sighing. "Man, I never understood this stuff. The only reason I did well was because Yzak was in his competitive mode to try and beat Athrun. All I know about pH is that it results in some pretty colors."

Lacus giggled at his honesty and Cagalli just rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Dearka, I wanted to introduce you to Lacus." He looked at Cagalli with confusion and then turned to Lacus. Lacus was also slightly confused. "Remember, Lacus? We met Miri at the mall and she talked about this dope?"

Lacus's eyes widened at the memory as she nodded, while Dearka pouted at the term Cagalli used to describe him.

"It's nice to meet you," Lacus said as she stood and curtsied.

Dearka attempted to curtsy as well making the girls laugh again.

"Well, I'm going to go get one of those sandwiches again. So I'll see you guys later."

They waved goodbye to him as he walked over to the refreshment table.

While waiting for the next judge to appear, Lacus noticed a streak of lightening pass by the window. She pointed it out to Cagalli who in turn peeked out the window and confirmed that the light drizzle from earlier had become a full on downpour.

"This is stupid."

At once Cagalli knew who was heading over to their stand.

"Nice to see you too, Yzak," Cagalli said, nudging Lacus slightly. Her friend just smiled at the boy who was wearing his trademark glare with his arms folded.

"They only asked me to come judge so they could rub in the fact that I lost to Athrun."

"Again," Cagalli reminded.

He glared at the girl who gave him an innocent smile.

"Score… negative 35."

"Hey, you can't do that!" Cagalli exclaimed with sparks of rage.

Heads turned to see what the commotion was about. Lacus immediately reached to the girl's arm in an attempt to pacify her. She didn't think they needed the extra attention they were getting. Eventually people began minding their own business, but the glaring contest between Cagalli and Yzak didn't seem to abate.

"I'm the judge, remember?" Yzak broke the glare and plastered a smirk on his face.

Cagalli resisted the urge to tackle him.

"I hardly think it's appropriate for a judge to allow personal matters to distract him or her from making an objective decision."

Cagalli and Yzak turned to Lacus with their mouths hanging agape. Their expressions were rather comical, yet Lacus didn't falter. Yzak managed to mumble something unclearly before turning his attention to the evaluation sheet in his hands. He looked up and met Lacus' gaze before walking away. Cagalli, on the other hand, was still staring at the girl.

"I think it's safe to assume that he will judge us fairly."

"Yeah…" Cagalli said slowly as she turned her attention to Meyrin and Auel's presentation.

From what she could hear it seemed that Auel and Meyrin had compared several types of liquid elements to water.

"And water was somehow special?" Athrun questioned, readily taking notes on what the lab partners were sharing.

"Yes, for example, most of the compounds boiled within the first minute. The water, however, had to rise to a much higher temperature in order to boil," Meyrin explained, pointing to a picture of their results.

"And why would that be the case?" Athrun asked, looking up from his evaluation sheet.

"Well, we did some research and found that water has some unique characteristics. It boils at a much higher temperature because of the hydrogen bonds present, which are more difficult to break due to the sheer number of them," Auel explained.

After exchanging several more questions and answers Athrun thanked the two for their presentation and made his way over to Lacus and Cagalli.

"How are you ladies?" Athrun politely asked. Cagalli scoffed slightly, but Lacus responded in an amiable fashion. "And what did you focus your project on?"

"Our project was designed to distinguish good pH indicators from those that didn't work," Lacus explained.

"Could you explain what pH actually is and how pH indicators work?" Athrun asked.

"Well, _pH _actually stands for the power of hydrogen. The solutions we experimented with were either acidic, like lemon juice, or basic, like soap. When a pH indicator is added to a solution it'll change color. The specific color corresponds to the solution's level of acidity," Cagalli explained before turning to Lacus.

"Our results told us that red cabbage and rose petals were good pH indicators, while sunflowers were not. Unfortunately we were unable to perform the experiment with red apple skins," Lacus finished.

"Yeah, since _someone_ got hungry," Cagalli muttered, glaring daggers at the boy to her left.

"Ah, the infamous Shinn incident," Athrun commented, chuckling slightly. Cagalli then turned to glare at the young judge. "Ahem… anyway…"

Sensing that the conversation would probably take a turn for the worse Lacus decided to change the subject.

"Athrun, isn't the dress Cagalli's wearing simply lovely?" Cagalli immediately became self conscious and attempted to sit down, but Lacus had swiftly moved the chair away. Cagalli had almost fallen over.

"It certainly is," Athrun agreed. "Is this the one Miriallia had picked out for you?"

"Yeah, unfortunately…" Cagalli mumbled.

"Athrun, Athrun, come look at our presentation! We found out that pennies made after 1982 were no longer made of copper!" The trio turned their attention to Lunamaria, who was bouncing up and down like an excited puppy.

A sudden rumble of thunder startled the students before the door to the cafeteria flung open revealing a drenched auburn haired girl.

"Miriallia?" Cagalli said in disbelief.

"That's right!" the girl exclaimed. "Didn't expect to see me, did ya?" Miri replied as she set a big bag down by her side.

"Not really. Especially since you don't go to this school," Kira mentioned, walking over to his childhood friend.

"Well then, it just happens to be your lucky day," she said cheerily, poking Kira's collarbone.

"Miri, what are you saying! I thought you came all this way for me and now you're saying you're in love with Kira!" Dearka cried dramatically.

"Dearka, you're such a dork," Miriallia said rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I'm on official business to take photos for _your _yearbook."

"Why would you take pictures for our yearbook?" Cagalli asked.

"Because your yearbook staff sucks," Miriallia said bluntly.

Cagalli couldn't disagree with that so she shrugged her shoulders in acceptance.

"Now then, could I get all of you to line up over there?" Miriallia pointed to where Cagalli and Lacus were standing. After the students were aligned, Miriallia asked them to step to the left, then back to the right, and then backwards.

"Miri, just take the picture!" Dearka complained.

"Be quiet. I want this to be perfect," she reprimanded. "Okay, everyone… smile!"

But just as Miriallia was about to take the photo, lightening flashed and before anyone realized what had happened it was pitch black.

"Oh my god! I'm blind!" Dearka bellowed.

"Quit yelling in my ear!" Shinn hollered back.

"Will you both knock it off!" Cagalli rebuked.

"Stellar wonders who turned the lights out," the innocent girl pondered aloud.

"There's a snake!" Flay shrieked.

"Stupid blackout," Sting commented as he took a step to the side.

"Athrun, I'm scared!" Luna cried.

"Eek!" Lacus squeaked, tripping over something.

"Ow, my foot!" Auel shouted.

"Are you all right, Lac—?" Kira asked worriedly, attempting to check before falling himself.

"Someone, turn on the emergency lights!" Athrun exclaimed.

"Who the hell is touching me?" Yzak howled.

And as suddenly as the blackout had occurred the lights flickered back on and Miriallia's camera shuttered.

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Once everyone had calmed down the judges gathered together, while the remaining students began cleaning up their areas.

"Well, first of all I would like to express how proud I am of each and every one of you and it is truly a shame that ORB's Chemistry Department was unable to make it. The representatives from ORB's Department of Chemistry were supposed to award a first place winner based on successful achievement, but since they're not present we will need to make special arrangements. Honestly, the projects presented today were so exceptional that we will need more time to choose a single group. If everything goes according to plan your final grades will be available by Friday."

With Professor Ramius' ending remarks made, the students began packing their things and heading out. Miriallia began packing her bag when she noticed her camera was still turned on. She glanced at the device momentarily before laughing hysterically.

"What's her problem?" Shinn murmured just loud enough for her to hear.

Rather than turn around and yell at him as expected, she continued laughing before handing the camera over to the group that had gathered.

The display screen revealed a priceless and uncomfortable looking picture that no one in the room could contain their laughter over.

This year's chemistry presentations sure would be a memorable one.

"Things that are hard to bear are sweet to remember."

* * *

**Meisha:**

And that's "Chemical Equilibrium". I wanted a more appropriate ending, but I suppose this will do. I truly appreciate those of you who have followed this story till the end and I hope that you continue to support me in my writing. It means a lot.

Until next time!


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